


God v Superman

by writerwriting



Category: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-28
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-02-08 00:46:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 29,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12853086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writerwriting/pseuds/writerwriting
Summary: The events after "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice". This story focuses on the relationship of Clark and Lois, the religious themes in the movie, the defeat of Darkseid, and the formation of the Justice League.





	1. Chapter 1

It was a slow news day. Only robberies, vandalism, and violence that had become commonplace stories. The city became more like Gotham everyday with no superhero patrolling the skies. The cops did their best and stopped some of the crimes. Wonder Woman and Batman occasionally lent a hand having anticipated the increase in crime in Metropolis, but the city wasn't the same as before.

Lois wasn't the same. Exposing the truth didn't inspire her anymore. She was drifting, but at least coming to the Daily Planet gave her a reason to get up in the morning. She sighed as she struggled to concentrate and get the department store manager's quote on the break-in into the article. She'd read over the notes she had taken during the interview more than once and still her mind hadn't latched onto meaning.

The TV caught her attention though. "In breaking news, a man was caught breaking into Superman's burial site only to discover someone had already beat him to it."

So they'd discovered Superman's grave had no body, Lois thought. It was only a matter of time. Let them wonder where it went. They'd never find out he was really buried in a family plot in Smallville, Kansas.

"Somebody probably sold it to a black market group of scientists," said one of the reporters in the newsroom.

"He was almost indestructible. Maybe he came back from the dead," said another.

"He's not God!" she shouted, silencing them all. More calmly though still visibly upset she added, "He wasn't God."

"Lane. Office. Now," Perry called.

She came, but she refused to look up at him. She only simmered and prayed she wouldn't get put on that story.

"That outburst wasn't about Superman, was it, Lane?" he asked.

"Of course it was about Superman. He was my friend. They hounded him in life and now that he's dead and gone, they still can't leave him alone. They can't let him rest in peace!"

"You were upset before that. This is about Kent."

A lone tear fell. How she hated appearing weak, but she could no more control its escape than she could the wind. "It's been 3 months today and the pain still feels as fresh as ever. Like I just laid him in the ground. But it's been 3 months, Perry. And then it'll be 6 months and then a year. Time's moving on, but I don't think I can move with it."

"Like you said, it's been 3 months. It was rough for you losing your partner. There's no timetable for grief. Take the rest of the day off."

"I'm in the middle of a story and-"

"That's an order. Not a request." His look was fierce. He meant what he said.

Lois walked out, slamming the door behind her to show her resentment.

He didn't understand. Work was what was keeping her going. But as she saw on the screen that a team of people were discussing what had happened to Superman's remains, she was glad she could go home.

"You're the strongest person I know. Things will get better," he said in an uncharacteristic softness, having opened the door again.

She nodded, but she didn't look around, afraid she would lose it altogether. And she almost did when she saw Clark's empty desk.

But the empty apartment wasn't any better. It was full of ghosts, happy memories that invaded her mind until she couldn't take it anymore, and she went to the park to read.

So she was sitting on a bench and reading a New York Times Best Seller, hoping not to get mugged or more likely in these times waiting until she was, when her cell phone went off.

She knew it was Martha Kent before she answered, but she could barely understand the woman she was so distressed.

"Hold on, Mrs. Kent, slow down. What about Clark?"

"They've dug him up. I went to put flowers on his grave and the coffin was just laying there open, discarded. They've taken my baby, my son. I don't know how they found out, but somehow they have."

"I'll be there on the first flight to Kansas," Lois promised.

Whoever had stolen his body would pay. They would not turn his body into a science experiment like they had with Zod. Not while she lived and breathed.


	2. Chapter 2

It was quiet. It was almost always quiet in Smallville, a fact that usually annoyed Lois, but today she found comfort in it. And most of all it made her feel closer to Clark being in the town he grew up in, in a way that didn't distress her like the empty apartment did.

Then again as she passed some of the people who'd been at the service, they would smile with recognition and many of them would ask how she was doing and that made her feel like screaming. Instead, she would smile and say she was just fine. What did they want to know? That she felt dead inside? That everyday was a struggle? People never really wanted to know that even with all their small-town friendliness.

Martha was going to meet her in front of the courthouse with her truck as main street was just a short walk from the small airport. She greeted Lois with a hug, and it felt nice even though she hadn't come from a hugging sort of family.

She drove them straight to the graveyard, and it was just how Martha had said. The coffin was laying open, and the dirt was thrown everywhere, leaving a gaping, yawning hole.

The tears hit hard, tears of anger and sadness mixed together, but Lois didn't feel bad about crying in front of Martha, a woman strong in her own right, whose motherly nature made it seem okay to cry, right even. She was also perhaps the only person on the planet who could fully understand what she was going through. "Who could be so cruel and then stupid to leave it like this where we'd have no choice but to notice?"

"I don't know," she answered, her strangled voice letting Lois know she was weeping, too.

"What have the police said?"

"The sheriff's theory is Clark had a personal effect that appealed to someone at the funeral, but the grave robber was about to get caught, so he or she took the whole body with them and buried it somewhere else. He said he'd look for the culprit, but there's not much interest in finding someone who's already dead, and there wasn't much to go on. He'll likely end up having the coffin buried again and let the case drop. And of course, I couldn't tell him differently, couldn't tell him the real reason someone would be interested in Clark's body."

"And I can think of only five living people who knew Clark's secret: you, me, Bruce Wayne, Diana Prince, and Lex Luthor. Lex has gone off the deep end. No one would take him seriously if he revealed his identity, and he has nothing to gain now if he did. I don't know Diana very well, but I know her enough to think she wouldn't do it."

"So you think Bruce did it?"

"I want to believe he didn't. He's stopped branding people, he respects Clark's sacrifice, but he had some strong paranoia. Maybe he thinks there'll be more Kryptonian attacks in the future, and he wants to know everything that can be known about them. Maybe he's afraid someone will find his body and create another Doomsday, I don't know. But he's where I'm going to start. I will get to the root of this. I promise."

"I know you will."

She stared momentarily at the surrounding headstones. Most of them marked Kent. Generations of Kents were buried here. Only one was missing. "Does this town have a hotel?"

"It doesn't, and even if it did, you'd still be staying with me. I know you were never officially my daughter-in-law, but you would have been. To my mind, that makes you family, and no family of mine's going to stay in a hotel."

"Yes, ma'am," she said with a smile.

sss

Lois was still laying in Clark's bed the next morning. Not sleeping. She rarely slept anymore it seemed like.

"You want to come to church with me?" Martha asked.

She'd forgotten it was Sunday. Her eyes went to the cross that often hung around Martha's neck. She suspected her faith was keeping her going like work was keeping Lois going. "I've got a plane to catch at 10:30." And she couldn't handle being in the sanctuary where Clark's body had been laid out. The smallest bit of light had steamed through the stained glass window onto his body that day, making him look like some kind of saint before the day had completely clouded over. The image was still strong in her mind, and she would break up to go back and see the inside of that church again.

"Just lock the house up when you leave if you remember to. I left you some breakfast. Take care of yourself, honey," she said, giving her a quick hug.

"You too, Mrs. Kent." But before the older woman had made it out the door, she said, "Do you know some still worship him? I saw an article about it online. The Church of Superman, they call it. Four churches and growing. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry."

Martha shook her head. "Clark would have hated that. He did hate that. I wish he were here to set them straight. I just wish he were here." She left on that sad note.

She wondered what the Church of Superman would think to know their savior had been raised a Methodist. In fact, though he hadn't attended church every Sunday by any means, he had talked her into going to a church service on Christmas and Easter. And she'd caught him praying before a meal more than once.

He'd never claimed to be a god and hadn't wanted to be. He hadn't even really wanted to be seen as a being from another planet though he accepted that true enough mantle to keep people from looking for an alter ego. He'd really just wanted to be seen as a man, who was trying his best to help people.

She stared up at the planets and stars on his ceiling. Had he always suspected his alien origins? No, she was fully positive Clark was just a genuine nerd, and she loved him for it.

She smiled as she remembered how he had asked to move in with her.

"I've been thinking," he'd said over dinner after they'd been going out for about nine months, "that you have a tendency to find yourself in some pretty dangerous situations."

She shrugged. "Comes with investigative journaling, I guess. But as much as I always appreciate your help, most times I could have gotten out of the situation on my own. Don't forget I was an investigate reporter long before you came to Metropolis."

"I know, but I think your name being connected with Superman's has made those situations go up, and I think someone should keep an eye on you."

From almost any other person, that would've made her mad, but coming from Clark, she thought it was sweet. She supposed that was a side effect of being in love. "You have anyone in mind for the job?" she asked with a trace of humor.

"Yeah, me. I was thinking that we spend so much time together what with working together and spending our evenings going on dates that living together wouldn't be a huge leap. It'd be more cost effective, convenient, and safer."

She'd never lived together with anyone before. That level of commitment intimidated her. No, it didn't mean they'd walk down the aisle by any stretch of the imagination, but it did mean taking a step in that general direction. Heck, she'd never even been in a relationship that long before, and she'd been afraid of ruining a good thing. But when he took her hand in his and smiled his gorgeous smile, she'd found the courage to say yes.

And his finding out she was grouchy in the mornings until she had her coffee, that she snored, that her housekeeping and cooking skills weren't up to snuff hadn't sent him running for the hills. And he was just perfect. She laughed quietly at that thought in her mind because she knew full well he hadn't been. He'd had a tendency to mope, he'd been compulsive about neatness and grammar, and he often let people take advantage of him because he was too nice. They'd had their fair share of arguments because of some of their differences, but it had never dimmed their love.

She twisted the diamond ring she still wore on her finger. He'd never gotten to ask her to marry him. And she often wondered how he would have proposed. Would he have gotten down on one knee, would he have asked her with the Metropolis skyline below them, would he have hidden the ring in a dessert? And had he wondered what she would have said? She would have said yes, a resounding yes.

In fact, if she could turn back the clock, she wouldn't have moved in together with him at all. She would have married him. It's what her traditional, Midwestern values boyfriend had wanted in the first place though he hadn't voiced it, knowing she needed time to come around. As much as she'd loved him, she'd still held a part of herself back in fear they couldn't make it as a couple. A fear he'd never shared. Their love had been one thing he'd never doubted.

She brought the ring over her heart. No, she couldn't change the past, but she could bring him back where he belonged, beside his father in his family's cemetery.


	3. Chapter 3

Lois briefly took in the sight of Bruce Wayne's mansion. It had more rooms than he could ever possibly use. It was a bit on the dilapidated side like the rest of Gotham but still grand with its towers and lakeside view. And it was fenced in to keep people out. Well, he wasn't going to keep her out. She pushed the intercom button.

"I'm afraid Bruce Wayne is not available at the moment. If you'll leave a name and number," began an older man on the other end, "I'll-"

She knew it had to be his butler though she'd never met the man. He was the only servant Bruce had, and until a few months ago, the only one in on his secret. "I don't want to see Bruce Wayne. I want to see Batman."

"One moment, ma'am."

The gate was opened, and Bruce was the one to open the front door.

He looked amused in his dry sort of way. "You could have just given your name. Alfred would have let you in. He knows who my friends are."

"I'm not so sure we are friends," she said with a glare.

"Oh?"

"Did you know that my father is Samuel Lane, a four-star general?" It wasn't a name she had ever thrown around before, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

"I do." He waited for her to continue.

"Of course, you do. You do your homework on everybody, don't you?" She went on when he didn't respond to that comment. "My point is that my father hates vigilantes. And he would be very interested in knowing who Batman is."

"Is there a point to these threats?" he asked, his gaze now intense.

"I want Clark Kent's body back. I know you have him." Her voice was like steel except for the tiniest tremor. "I'll make a trade. My silence if you just return him where he belongs."

He took a step towards her, but she took a step back just as quickly. "You could overpower me, I know," she said, "but I have a colleague who has an envelope with orders to give it to our boss should I not return in a timely fashion."

His gaze softened. "I've given you plenty of reasons to have your doubts, but I regret not trusting him sooner. I let myself be blinded by my grief and vengeance. He was a good man, and I would never do what you're suggesting. Someone has taken him then?"

"Right out of his coffin. They left it lying there in the graveyard for his mother to find."

"I will do everything in my power to find his body." He could see she still didn't altogether believe he hadn't taken him. "I swear on my parents' graves what I'm telling you is true."

She had seen how just the mention of his mother's name had brought him out of his murderous haze until he could see clearly again. He would never swear by anything about her if he didn't mean it. And removed of her suspicion, she saw that he would never hurt Martha Kent that way.

"Did you take the ferry across the bay?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Let me arrange a helicopter back." She started to protest, but he made the call on his cell phone before she could get a word in edgewise.

He offered her a drink before she left, but she refused it. She did agree to take the helicopter that landed right out in front of his house.

Before she got on, he took her hand into which he slipped his private number and then held onto it as he said, "Finding him will become my first priority. If you need anything at all or if you find anything else out, call me."

She forced a smile. Something she had to do a lot of lately. "I will."

A heavy Greek accent warned Bruce when he came back inside, "She is still too fresh from her grief to think of another man."

"I am not as much of a playboy as the press makes me out to be."

Alfred snorted from somewhere in the room, which Bruce purposely chose to ignore. He didn't know how much she had seen or heard, but he said. "My reasoning for helping her was purely platonic and taking her hand was meant to be a way to comfort her. I was not trying to put any moves on her." He added only a few seconds later. "And I find my attentions are elsewhere lately."

He might have said more to her, but Alfred was listening, and Diana looked embarrassed. They had worked together since Superman's death, trying to track down more metahumans. So far they had come up empty. The people they sought had spent too much time hiding to be easily found.

"I realized I may know the whereabouts of our man under the ocean," she said, abruptly changing the subject. "I believe him to be a descendant of those in the lost city of Atlantis, and there is a library on my island that holds many secrets of the ancient world that are lost to the modern age, including the location of Atlantis when it still rested above the sea."

"That mission's on hold for now. Clark Kent has gone missing."

Diana looked disgusted. "An Amazon would never disturb the rest of those gone to the afterlife."

"Well, someone would, and we have to find out who."


	4. Chapter 4

Lois burned the envelope with Batman's secret when she got back to the office. But just because she didn't go around in a cape didn't mean she intended to sit on the sidelines. She appreciated Bruce's help, but that didn't mean she was going to stop looking into things herself.

Somebody in Smallville had to have seen something if it was nothing more than a strange-looking vehicle. It was time to put a little pressure on Smallville's sheriff. A quick google search got her the number of his office.

"Hello, Lois Lane, Daily Planet," she said as soon as she heard a hello.

"Miss Lane," said a woman's voice, warm and kind, who sounded old enough to have retired years ago. "I'm so glad you called. I've been praying for you."

Not how she expected a government organization to answer the phone, but then again this was Kansas. "Thank you. I want to speak to the sheriff."

"Of course you do, dear." Her tone said she knew what she was calling about but then how could she not know, working for the sheriff. "Just let me put you on hold while I see if he's available to talk."

"I don't want to be put on hold. I want-" But for all the woman's politeness, she'd put her on hold anyway.

And she waited six long minutes. No doubt he was scrambling for excuses.

"Miss Lane. What can I do for you?" he said at last.

"You can give me some answers. I want to know how the case is progressing. Have you located him? Have you located any witnesses?"

"No, but we're working on it."

"It's been over forty-eight hours. Just what exactly are you working on?"

"Too much. I only have two deputies. I haven't had a vacation since Clinton was in office."

"Well, sure. Petty crimes, but what other serious crimes do you have to take care of, sheriff?"

"Great. Mr. Hodge is here to talk about the noise coming from his neighbor's house. He lives next door to a couple of teenagers and is in here at least once every two weeks, but I have to take his complaints seriously. It was what I was elected for. I'll just put you on hold and deal with him first."

And that deserved more attention than finding someone who had dug up and stolen a body from the cemetery? "No! Don't put me on hold." She'd been put on hold. Again.

She slammed the edge of her desk, which made her palm sting, but she was too angry to care. They were giving her the run-around because they were doing nothing. Diddly-squat.

She was going to light a fire under the sheriff that he wouldn't soon forget. If it meant investigating his department from top to bottom for the last twenty years until she had leverage, that's exactly what she'd do.

Somebody was pecking her on the shoulder. She swatted them away. Whatever they wanted couldn't be as important as what she was trying to do. "Can't you see I'm on the phone?"

"Lois, you have to see this," Jenny said in a voice barely above a whisper.

She should have noticed the hush that had fallen over the newsroom, but she'd been so wrapped up in what she was doing, she hadn't. Her eyes went to the TV, and they stayed there. The phone slipped out of her hand and clattered noisily onto the floor, but she didn't even bother to pick it up.

It couldn't be, but it was. There was Clark as big as life with the words LIVE at the bottom of the screen, looking for all the world like he'd never left. He was wearing his Superman costume, the red cape was fluttering in the breeze. For the first time, the S emblazoned on his chest really did spell out hope to her.

"Don't just stand there," Perry said. "Get up to the roof. If he'll talk to any reporter, it'll be you, Lane. Find out his story before anybody else does." He was smiling despite his orders. He knew how much this was going to mean to her. Maybe not fully, but he knew it in part.

It felt so dreamlike she wanted to pinch herself. She'd dreamt so many dreams like this over the past few months, but she was awake this time. She couldn't run to the roof fast enough, taking the stairs two at a time.


	5. Chapter 5

"Clark," Lois called out on the roof though not too loudly, in case there were eavesdroppers. She knew he would hear her without needing to yell. But it didn't bring him.

The next time she did shout, "Superman!"

It wasn't but a few seconds before he was floating in front of her.

"You're alive!" She went forward to touch him to assure herself of his reality, but he didn't let his boots touch the ground. He just hovered slightly over and in front of her just out of her reach. "How? No, I don't care how. There's plenty of time to talk about that. I just don't believe it. Have you been to see your mother?"

He looked at her strangely. "I'm from the planet Krypton. My mother is dead."

He was being perfectly serious. Did he have some kind of selective amnesia? It wouldn't be surprising given the blows he had taken. For heaven's sake, he had been dead. Who knew what that did to your memory. "Do you remember me?" she asked, afraid of the answer.

"Of course. Lois Lane. How could I not? You wrote my first story. I've saved your life many times."

That's all he remembered? No wonder he hadn't rushed into her arms like she longed to rush into his. "Where have you been?"

"You know where I've been. I was buried in Metropolis, but I suppose my superior Kryptonian genes could not as easily expire as a human's. I just needed rest. But Metropolis will be under my protection again. Earth will be under my protection. You can print that in your paper."

The basic facts were there. The details were not. He only knew what anybody who picked up a newspaper or went to a news site knew. And Clark would never be so arrogant to call himself or his genes superior.

She didn't know who this man was, but he wasn't Superman. He wasn't Clark. And it was like losing him all over again. Her breathing became ragged, tears pricked her eyes, and that feeling of crushing heaviness she'd almost accepted as a part of daily life returned to replace the fleeting lightness she'd felt. "Who are you?" she asked accusingly.

"I don't know what you mean." He stared at her like she was crazy one.

"Yes, you do. Where do you live? Who are you?" Though her vision swam, her gaze was fierce.

"Live?" he asked as if the word were foreign.

"Where do you hang your cape at night?"

"That's not something I can share with the public, Miss Lane. If you'll excuse me, a citizen needs my help."

A flash of blue and red and then he was out of her sight. She was left alone to wonder to his identity. Multiple theories ran through her head and each possibility seemed more fantastic and impossible than the next, but then two years ago aliens and immortal Amazons would have, too. They were living in an age like no other.

She had a hunch that if she found out where the pretender went when he was off duty, she'd find where Clark's body went to.

It suddenly occurred to her Martha might see the news, and she whipped out her phone to call her and save her from the pain she was going through right now at having her hopes falsely raised and then dashed.

She cursed softly when she only got Mrs. Kent's voicemail, but she had to warn her. "This is Lois. I wanted to give you a heads up that you may see something on the news that isn't true. There's a man who looks like your son, but it isn't Clark though people think it is. I spoke with him, and I wish so much...I'll call again when I have more information."

She went down the stairs very slowly. A heavy contrast to how she'd went up them. Every eye was on her as she came into the newsroom.

"Well? Did you get an exclusive?" Perry asked.

"I got an exclusive alright, but don't get too excited. It wasn't him."

"Well, then who the heck is he?" Perry demanded. "I thought all the other Kryptonians were either killed or sent to the Phantom Zone. And how does he look exactly like him?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out everything. The only thing I do know at this point is Superman hasn't returned." She looked at Jenny. "Who was the reporter who got the live footage of Superman on TV?"

Jenny bit her lip thoughtfully, trying to remember. "I think her name was Lana Lang."


	6. Chapter 6

Finding Lana Lang was easy enough. Lois went down to the WGBS-TV station and asked for her. She was directed to her dressing room.

"Hi. How can I help you?" Lana was pretty: long brown hair with not a strand out of place, brown eyes, a winning smile, and fashionable clothes and makeup. Her accent was a nondescript Midwestern and her voice on the melodious side. She was everything you'd expect a journalist who spent her time in front of a camera to be.

"How and where did you get footage of Superman?" Lois asked, not bothering with pleasantries.

"I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. He was rescuing a family from a fire down on 2nd street."

"You talked with him?" she asked.

She blushed. "No." Then she smiled. "But I didn't have to. I'm just happy to know he's still alive." The smile disappeared when she saw Lois wasn't happy. "You have talked to him?"

"I have. I need to go." She turned to leave.

"It's not really him, is it?"

Lois turned back around. "What makes you say a thing like that? You've got eyes, don't you? You saw him, didn't you?"

She made it as far as the door this time, but Lana pleaded, "Please, I want to help you."

"There's nothing you can do. And who says anything's wrong?" She put her hand on the knob.

"I know he was really Clark Kent."

Her hand dropped. What was the use of denying it at this point, but she would protect Clark's secret to the grave. "What gave you a crazy idea like that?"

"I'm from Smallville. Clark was a friend from childhood. We even went out a couple times in high school. He never told me his secret, but I knew. I think half of Smallville knows."

"How-"

"How did he stay hidden for so long and not end up in some government facility? You have to understand the small town ideology of community. We protect and take care of our own. We didn't find out he was an alien until the rest of the world did; we only knew about his powers, but he was well-liked, loved even. No one's going to say anything."

"I was going to say how do you know I know his identity, theoretically speaking of course."

"I know Clark. I've caught footage of you kissing Superman more than once, and I know he would never enter a romantic relationship as Superman if the lady didn't know who he was. He would never take advantage of the suit like that. That's a pretty engagement ring by the way. You must miss him a lot. I was sorry I couldn't make it to his funeral. The real one, I mean, but the station had me covering Superman's funeral."

She found herself liking the woman against her will. "It might be nice to pair up with another journalist." She tried not to remember the fact that the last time she'd paired up with another reporter had been with Clark. "I guess we need to comb the news sites for anything unusual, and we'll play back your footage and see if we catch anything there."

sss

Lois and Lana, still in her dressing room, were sitting on the loveseat with the screen in front of them on pause.

"I still can't get over it. It looks exactly like him. You think he had a twin?" Lana asked.

"Jor-El would've said something," she answered, eyes still focused on the screen.

"Jor-El?"

"Never mind."

Lois answered her phone without checking the id.

"You didn't call me," said the deep, masculine voice.

"You have a TV." Did a part of her still blame Bruce Wayne for Clark's death? If not for his distrustful nature, might they have stopped Lex and his monster sooner? Before Clark had to go to his death? But Clark would have wanted her to forgive and let him help her, so for that reason alone she promised, "But I'll do better in the future."

"It's not really Clark," he informed her.

"I know that. How did you know that?"

He hesitated before continuing. "With no one it can hurt now, I've been experimenting with the element from his home planet at my company. He flew by the window, and it did him no harm. Furthermore, an outside camera at Wayne Technologies picked up the imposter flying into S.T.A.R. Labs."

"I should have known. It's some kind of grotesque experiment they're doing. They're the ones who've taken him."

"Don't do anything rash," Bruce warned. "Diana and I are on our way to check it out."

"If you're telling me not to investigate, forget it. It's what I do."

"I'm telling you be careful."

Lana was looking at her anxiously as she hung up, and Lois explained, "We're going to S.T.A.R. Labs. You can ride with me if you want."

She gasped. "They don't let reporters into S.T.A.R. Labs. It's a top secret research facility."

"I'm very aware of that. There's a lot of places they don't allow reporters. Are you coming or not?"

sss

Lois pulled out scissors and started cutting the fence, the snip of metal against metal filling the air.

"It's not electric?" Lana asked in disbelief.

"Not electric," she confirmed as she cut a hole just large enough for them to crawl through. Or if it was, it had been turned off. A fact she'd made sure of when they first arrived by rolling a penny against it and watching for a spark. Their security measures were definitely lacking.

"How do we keep from getting caught once we're inside?" Lana asked.

She pulled out two white lab coats from her bag she'd brought with her from her car. They had gotten her past closed doors at various hospital more times than she could count. She always had a spare, in case one was in the wash. "The trick is to look like you belong."

"I thank God I'm not an investigative reporter," Lana muttered after putting it on and getting down on her hands and knees.

"It's not too late for you to turn back."

"No. I owe this to Clark, to his memory."

Their conversation ceased out of necessity as they went inside the building and became surrounded by others.

Lois was right. No one questioned them or paid them any mind as visiting scientists were often at the facility.

"Any idea where we're going?" Lana asked in a whisper.

"Nope. My first visit, believe it or not. Just keep your eyes open."

Some doors were closed and locked, some had glass through which one could see rather ordinary experiments being conducted, but one door was cracked open ever so slightly. Just enough for Lois to catch a glimpse of a man, a boy really, who looked more like a robot than a human being. She started to reach for the door. Was the fake Superman in there and also a realistic-looking cyborg?

"Miss Lane," said a man, putting a halt to her action. She'd been recognized. Sometimes that was an advantage. Today, it was a disadvantage. "And Miss Lang. If you all wanted a tour, all you had to do was ask. We sometimes make exceptions to our no-journalists policy."

Lois turned to face the balding man in glasses. "Really? Then you wouldn't mind telling us why your lab is harboring a look-alike Superman." Recognition crossed her features. "I remember you. The alien expert."

"Dr. Emil Hamilton at your service. I'm proud of what I've done. And maybe you're just the reporter I need to break the good news. Follow me."

This was turning out better than she'd hoped, but she was on guard for a trick. She followed him, along with Lana, down the corridor to his personal lab.

She gave a sharp intake of breath, and Lana screamed when they saw "Superman" in a large glass tank. He was hooked up to various wires and a breathing tube. His eyes had been shut until Lana screamed, which made Lana scream again to see him open his eyes.

Lois wasn't screaming, but she was just as frightened. Had he reanimated the body to make some kind of Frankenstein monster?

"A clone," Dr. Hamilton said as if reading her thoughts.

"You're the one who took his body," Lois accused.

"Not true. I took his DNA from a sample of his blood is all. From Gotham City. It was, unfortunately, very easy to collect enough for my experiment after the battle."

That didn't make Lois less angry. "This is unethical and against the law! No wonder you're top-secret here."

"It's against the law to clone a human," he corrected. "Superman wasn't human."

Lois was practically in his face now. "He was more human than any of us. You had no right. No right."

Lana put a hand on her shoulder. "It was wrong, but now Metropolis has a protector again. He did save that family." Though she defended the project, she was taking care not to look towards the tank. "Maybe we should just keep this between us for now. The people were just coming to accept Superman. Who knows how they'll feel about a clone of him?"

Dr. Hamilton looked thoughtful. "I hadn't thought of that. Maybe it would be best to keep it quiet for now. He's got a few imperfections to work out too like breathing for one. He needs the air to be like Krypton's was. That's why he's in the tank. He can only leave it for short periods of time. And-"

Lois was barely listening. She was too upset. It was all too bizarre, and she could feel the clone's eyes on her. "Excuse me. I have to go."


	7. Chapter 7

Lois kicked her tire. She'd like to wring Dr. Hamilton's scrawny neck. Instead, she kicked the tire again. If Lana didn't get her butt out here in the next couple of minutes, she'd leave without her.

While she waited, she gave Bruce a ring.

"You called," he said with a hint of surprise.

"I said I would, didn't I?" she asked testily. She wasn't so much angry with him as she was angry with this whole situation. "It's a clone. They cloned him, but not from his body, from blood they obtained after the-well, you know."

"We've landed and are headed to S.T.A.R. Labs as we speak."

"Good. I won't be there, but if you want to put a little fear of God into a Dr. Emil Hamilton, I wouldn't object."

He chuckled. "I don't know about the fear of God, but I'll certainly put the fear of Batman into him."

Lana joined her just as she hung up. She said tersely, "Perfect timing. Get in the car."

Lana asked no questions but got in, sensing her black mood.

sss

"I take it this is where Lois made her entrance," Bruce pointed out.

"Resourceful woman," Diana said.

"No argument from me and no reason we can't go in the same way," he said, ducking down.

They didn't blend in like Lois and Lana had with their superhero costumes on, but no one accosted them all the same. They even got someone to give them directions to Dr. Hamilton's lab.

Emil was surprised to see them but not afraid, at least not until Batman shoved him against the wall and lifted him a couple inches off the ground.

"What were you thinking creating a powerful being you're not sure you can control?" He saw the tank for the clone, but the clone was out on a run it appeared. "Are you using him for your gain?"

"I-I-" he stuttered at a loss for words.

"I can handle this," Diana said.

Batman set him down and moved out of the way, so she could lasso the scientist to be sure the truth came out in an intelligible way. "Why did you create a copy of Superman?"

"I wanted to help. Superman left a void and who better to fill it then a genetic copy of him? This should make you both happy."

The visit had been easier than Bruce expected with Diana's help. The doctor's intentions weren't bad after all, but that didn't make them less stupid. He stood by his statement that the doctor had no way of controlling this being should he go rouge. It was time to bring back out the kryptonite.

"You'd better keep close tabs on your creation," Batman warned, "because I'll be keeping close tabs on you."

Diana freed the scientist, and she and Batman were gone almost as suddenly as they'd come.

Emil thought that he'd rather face-off with Superman or his clone even with all their incredible powers than Batman any day.

sss

Bruce caught sight of one of the very metahumans they'd been looking for on there way down the hall. "Well, look at that. Two birds with one stone. What else are these labs hiding, I wonder?"

"We should talk to him," Diana said, entering the lab before Bruce could say any more.

"Can I help you?" asked the older man with furrowed brows.

"I'm Batman," he said, in case the batlike costume hadn't made it obvious.

"Wonder Woman," she said, giving the name the papers, and Lois in particular, had assigned to her.

The young man with metallic parts gave his name. "I'm Victor Stone, but call me Vic."

"Silas. His father," he said.

"And creator. Don't forget that," Vic said bitterly.

"Was I supposed to let you die?" he said, keeping an even tone, but there was a rawness to it even so.

"At least I wouldn't have had to live as a freak," he shot back.

"You're not a freak," Diana said, full of compassion. "You're just different, and you'd be surprised how many different people there really are. That's why we're here. Batman and I are looking for them. We're forming a group, whose purpose is to use our special abilities to help, and we'd love your help."

"I'm in," Vic said immediately.

"No, he's not," Silas said. "He's too young. He's just a teenager."

"Am I? I'm more metal than human. Do you expect me to live out my days in your lab? Haven't you done enough of deciding my life for me? At least it'd give my life, this," he said, referring to his unique prosthetics, "meaning."

"We'll talk about this later," Silas said to Victor. To Batman and Wonder Woman he said, "Thank you both for your offer, but we'll have to say no."

Being that Vic was a minor, they had no choice but to leave.

"If you change your mind, just send up the bat signal," Bruce said.

They could hear arguing taking place as soon as they were in the hallway.

sss

Lois sat out on her balcony that evening. Sirens blared. So many sirens, it was hard to think. She thought about moving to another city. One where she didn't have to see his not quite perfect double flying around and pretending to be him. It would keep her wounds too raw seeing him constantly, reminding her daily of what she'd lost.

She gave a snort of disgust. Did Dr. Hamilton think all it took to have Superman back was a genetic copy? He wouldn't have the same values Clark had been raised with. He wouldn't have any of the memories or life experiences. And even if he could have those things somehow, it still wouldn't be him. The soul was not copyable.

The clone may have looked like a man, but he was a mere child, an infant, if you counted the months he'd been alive. How could he hope to defend the city, the world, with the same passion or skill. He couldn't. She didn't have the same optimism as the good doctor and Lana did. Call her cynical or jaded, but she liked to think of it as practical. He wouldn't come close to filling Superman's boots.

She heard the flutter of the cape before she saw him. She saw the face she'd loved so well rise slowly and cautiously up, but it was the clone. Not Clark. She shuddered. That was never going to stop being creepy.

But as he got closer to her, she saw there were subtle differences. He didn't look exactly like Clark or the clone from earlier. His eyes were a different and lighter shade of blue, his face more narrow, and he was younger by about ten years. His costume was different too. The cape was shorter and the colors were brighter though the symbol of the house of El was still there.

"You're not Superman," she said. This time she knew it without his saying a word.

"No."

She was surprised that this one wasn't going to even try to pretend. "Are you another clone?"

"No."

"You look so much like him."

"I know."

"But you are Kryptonian?"

"Yes. I wish I could tell you more, but I can't. I just want to tell you that dark days are ahead, but don't lose hope. The darkness can never overcome the light."

She wanted to ask him what he meant by that, but he was gone. Had he been some kind of angel sent to give her a divine message?

As comforting as that thought would be, she didn't believe it for a second. What in the name of heaven was going on? Her world had already been turned upside down with Clark's death. Now it seemed it had gone mad, too.


	8. Chapter 8

The stars whizzed by, streaks of light rather than specks. He'd traveled many light-years to get to the galaxy known as the Milky Way, and in particular, to the planet known as Earth. He'd be there in three days six hours and seven minutes if his calculations were correct.

Earth was where he could find the Anti-Life equation. He was sure of it. There was something about Earthlings, sentient but easily manipulated, unlike the Martians. He'd eliminated that race but failed to discover the formula.

The formula would give him the power of a god. It wasn't enough for him to be the ruler of Apokolips, his own planet. He wanted total devotion to himself. He wanted the fear of his name on everyone's lips. Free will was problematic to that end, but the equation would allow him overcome it, so that eventually the entire universe would bow to his will.

Lex Luthor had been his pawn, unwitting at first. He'd had total control over the man using dreams and visions that he was capable of giving. Luthor's anger over his childhood had him an easy target. Eventually Luthor had figured out he was real, and Darkseid had shared with him that he was coming, promising to make the Earthling a minor ruler. Not that he intended to keep that promise, but with no free will, Luthor wouldn't care.

He'd sent dreams to Bruce Wayne, too, to make him fear Superman, the only being there he felt that stood in his way. That hadn't worked as well as he'd hoped in the end, but Doomsday had kept that from mattering, who was a brilliant idea he'd planted in Luthor's head.

Though he hadn't sent the man with three names any dreams, he had probed the Kryptonian's head and found his weakness, Lois Lane. Knowledge of his adoptive mother had proved useful in his schemes as well. Earth's greatest protector was out of the way, dead.

Noise distracted him from his thoughts. The clamor came from the lower level of his mighty ship. His parademons were restless, eager for bloodshed. They would help him keep control on earth until he found the equation.

He'd uncovered a peculiar idea among the humans whose minds he'd probed. It was called Armageddon, the end of the world in preparation for another. Armageddon was coming. The end of life as they knew it.

sss

It was so dark. He wanted to groan, but he hadn't the energy. Where was he? He couldn't tell.

The last thing he remembered he'd died.

No, that wasn't true. The last thing he remembered he was trapped in a box that bore a terrifying resemblance to a coffin. Only he was too weak to even lift open the lid though he'd given it a good thump. But then he'd heard the sound of dirt raining down and had been unable to scream for help.

He could hold his breath for a long time, hours, but eventually he was going to suffocate, a fact he knew, and he'd resigned himself to dying. Again.

The question was how had he gotten here wherever here was. For he was in a coffin no longer.

Was he dead? Was this heaven? If it was, every muscle in his body wouldn't ache the way it did. He now knew what people meant when they said they felt as if they'd been run over by a bus.

That left another option. Was he in hell? He reasoned that if he was, he'd likely feel a lot worse than he did.

So if he wasn't in heaven and he wasn't in hell, that meant he was still alive. It was then he realized the darkness was because he hadn't the strength to open his eyes. It was really warm though like he was laying in sunlight, but he couldn't confirm it.

He focused his mind and willpower solely into moving and was able to raise a pinky just slightly.

"Good. You're starting to wake up," came a man's voice that he didn't recognize. Had he been captured?

The man must have seen the frown he made. "Don't worry. I'm a friend."

He didn't know why, but he trusted the friendly voice. And even if he didn't, what choice did he have at the moment?

"You need to concentrate on resting. Earth's going to need your help."

That sounded ominous, and while he wanted to ask questions, a thick fog of sleep rolled over him, and he fell back into unconsciousness.


	9. Chapter 9

Lois was supposed to be heading to the police station for the latest statements on the crime wave. She'd had the taxi let her out about a block ago because traffic was so ridiculously backed up.

She stopped in front of a very new church. The church of Superman had come here to Metropolis. As incensed as she was to see it, she was curious, too. It looked as if they were having some sort of service right now, so she went in.

It looked like any other church except for the mustard yellow cushions, the red carpet, and the blue stained-glass windows with the S-shield in the center. The pews while not full were fairly packed. She was used to there being a few fruitcakes in the city, but this was beyond belief.

There was a blonde girl of about sixteen sitting in the back. She wasn't like the rest with their reverent looks or looks of awe. She looked to be only curious like her. Lois took a seat beside her. The girl gave her a slight smile, and they both turned their attention to the sermon taking place.

"He came to lead us to the light. He gave us a reason to hope. And now he's back from the dead to prove he's the new savior. A new savior for a new age."

There were scattered amens.

Lois felt physically ill. She'd said similar things, written similar things, but she'd never meant for it to be taken to this extreme. Why did it seem people either hated or revered him?

"They really thought of him as a god, didn't they?" the girl beside her said.

"He wasn't though," she said firmly and quickly.

"No," she agreed. Then she wheezed and seemed to have trouble catching her breath.

"Are you alright?" Lois asked.

She smiled weakly. "I'll be fine. Asthma."

"Do you have your inhaler?"

"It's okay. I'll catch my breath in a minute."

She watched her worriedly to make sure it was true. People had been known to die of asthma.

Her cell phone went off, and she received a few annoyed looks. Perry. No doubt he was wondering why she wasn't at the police station yet. She went to the back of the church to answer.

"I'm on my way. I just got held up in traffic."

"Forget the police station. Superman and another Superman are holding up a collapsed bridge. Get over to Queen Bridge and get the story."

"There's two Supermans because neither one is him. One's a clone and another is just Kryptonian, and I don't know that I have the stomach to cover it. Send someone else."

"Well, find the stomach for it because the world wants to hear what you have to say about this development since you introduced the world to Superman."

He hung up before she had the chance to argue anymore. She took one more look to make sure the girl was doing better, and she seemed to be, so she started to head out the door.

The preacher or speaker, whatever he thought he was, spotted her, and recognizing her, said, "It's Lois Lane, the chronicler of so much of Superman's life and miracles. She is the writer of his gospel, and he took a special interest in her. Will you come and speak to us?"

Her anger burned brightly against this sacrilege for Clark's sake and the Lord's, though she hadn't been close to God since she was a child. She decided to speak like she'd wanted to since she came in there.

"Yes, I believe I will, and I can tell you exactly what he would say to you all if he were here." She got to the front and looked at them boldly. "He'd say get up off your knees because he's just a man." There were gasps, but she kept going. "He'd say he's not a savior just a human being trying to do what's right, trying to use his gifts from God for good. If he came to lead you to the light, it was not his light he wanted you to see. If he came to give you hope, it was the hope that only God can give, the kind of hope that makes us want to reach out to help another person. You're looking for him to be Jesus Christ, and he's not. Only Jesus Christ can be Jesus Christ."

She would have also told them he wasn't alive, but she didn't think they'd believe it, and they'd read the truth in her article soon enough since it seemed they were such dedicated followers of her work. The blonde girl alone applauded her speech.

There were jeers and boos as she made her exit, but she didn't care. She'd spoken the truth.

She'd barely stepped onto the sidewalk before the girl from inside ran out and beside her.

"You knew him well then?" she asked. "What was he like?"

"He was the kindest man I ever knew even when people were doing him wrong. The world didn't appreciate him until he was gone, and they still don't appreciate who he was," she said, looking back at the church with disdain.

"I wish I'd gotten to meet him."

"You talk like you don't believe he's alive again." She was surprised that someone besides herself had recognized it.

"I don't know who it is that's been on the news, but it is not Kal-El."

She smiled. "You use his Kryptonian name?"

She reddened just a little. "It makes him seem more real, I suppose. Though I guess most referred to him as Superman. Even he called himself that."

"He wouldn't have minded that you use Kal-El. So I know why I believe the current Superman is an imposter. Why do you?"

"It's complicated. Too much of a fan to be fooled, I guess. I better get back to my adult. I told her I was going to the bathroom." Her impish grin made her seem more like the teenager she was. She started to run off.

"You know my name. I never asked you yours."

"Linda. It was nice meeting you, Miss Lane."


	10. Chapter 10

The bridge had already been cleared. The police were just setting up road blocks before the superman-like heroes let the bridge go.

Lois could see them if she leaned a little bit and squinted. Identical from this distance, the only differences being the younger's hair glinted red in the sun and, of course, the different costumes they wore.

"Hand over your purse, lady."

She sighed and rolled her eyes. She didn't have time for a mugging, but the nozzle in her back said differently. Her father was right. She should start carrying a gun.

"I'm not carrying a purse. Only an idiot would carry anything of value with all the mugging and looting and violence."

One of the criminals turned her around and rudely patted her down to make sure that was true.

"Hey, that's the reporter Superman has the hots for!" the other suddenly cried.

"Are you sure?" the other one asked.

"Saw her in a news clip once. We're going to get it now that he's back, and he's got a friend. I told you we should start trying to find jobs."

"Shut up. We'll just have to make sure she don't tell him."

Lois didn't like the sound of that. Despite her struggle and despite landing a good kick that sent one to his knees in pain, the other one still managed to push her into the river. It was a decently long fall, just high enough to kill her when she hit the water.

But before she'd fell too many feet, she felt two, four, six pairs of hands on her. The clone had her by the ankles, the young one had her by the hands, and someone she couldn't see supported her from behind.

Lois had three super beings to protect her now. Did it really take that many? This was almost starting to get embarrassing.

The men didn't stick around to talk. As soon as they had her on the pavement, they were gone; they were too busy going after the fellows who'd held her up. The bridge was sinking into the river.

She whipped around to see who the third person was who had rescued her and recognized her as the girl from the church. Linda. "Who the-never mind. We have to get you out of here. Duck down. Don't let people see your face."

The girl obeyed. She started to run, but Lois stopped her. "Don't run. We don't want to attract attention. We're not too far from my apartment."

She pulled her keys out of her shoe when she got to her car, the place where she hid her cash and keys these days though it might not be necessary anymore with triple the help she had before.

She opened the back door for the girl while she slipped into the driver's seat. "Do you have anyone I can call?" she asked. "Parents? Grandparents?"

"No. I live in a home for children. I've only been there a month. No one would care if I went missing."

She knew exactly where to take her. It would be a long drive, but a plane would be too risky, too many people.

"Get down onto the floorboards until we hit open road. I'm almost certain you got filmed with phones. Your face is going to be recognizable in minutes if it's not already. Mind if I ask you how you got the ability to fly?"

"No. I don't suppose I do since you were such good friends with Superman," came her muffled voice. "I'm his cousin."

She'd been ready for almost anything: an experiment at S.T.A.R. Labs, from an ancient tribe, even another Kryptonian, but the personal connection with Clark warmed her heart more than it saddened her and made her more determined than ever to protect the girl. "That doesn't make sense. Krypton exploded before you were born."

"A fragment of Krypton was left. The people used advanced technology to seal the air, and we survived. We didn't have the codex, so my parents and others created babies without technology, but it was a landmass floating in space and a large meteor came our way. There was nothing to be done. My father, Zor-El, was a scientist like his brother. It's what they were created to be. He had enough time to build a spaceship before impact, but only for me, not for anyone else."

Lois wished she could reach back and hug the girl. She'd lost her mother at an early age, so she knew something of what she was going through, but to lose everything and everyone she knew, she couldn't imagine. "I'm so sorry."

My father knew from his brother where Kal-El had been sent to, and he was able to tap into a satellite and learn of Superman. That's why he knew to send me to Metropolis to find my cousin. Only he..."

Lois' eyes glistened. "He would have been so happy to know he has a cousin. What did you do when you discovered he was gone?"

"I claimed amnesia. It seemed the easiest way to go rather than fabricating a background when I know so little of Earth's culture, which is only what I was able to learn through the satellite while my dad was building the ship. They gave me the name Janie Doe, but it sounded so plain and dull. I heard the name Linda, and it sounded much prettier to me. You're the only one I've given that name to."

"Well, then I guess you can still be called Linda. What's your real name?"

"Kara. Kara Zor-El."

"Your first name isn't so unusual. It's a name on Earth, too, but I think it's wise that you move as far from your Krytonian identity as possible in everyday life. People still have a ways to go in accepting people who are different, and Linda is very normal-sounding. Need a last name though."

"How about Lee? That sounds nice together. Linda Lee."

"Good. Then that's what you'll go by."

"Can't I just stay with you?"

The girl's voice sounded so lost. She wished she could say yes. "No. I'm going to be the first place they look because of my connection with Superman and because you saved me."

As soon as she felt they were a safe distance away, she pulled into a town. Small but as she drove in the downtown, she found what she was looking for, a beauty school with styled wigs in the windows. She covered Kara, who was still on the floorboards, with her jacket before going in.

When she came back out, she handed her the purchase. Kara got up off the floorboards for a closer look.

"What's this?"

"A wig. The world's going to be looking for a girl with blonde hair. The more you can do to disguise yourself, the better. May I?"

After a nod, Lois tucked her blond tendrils under the plain brown cut. Boring, common, less likely to attract attention. "We'll worry about your clothes when we get where we're going. That should do for now if anyone peaks in."

"Where are you taking me?" Kara asked, buckling up to blend in, not because she needed to.

"I'm taking you to Smallville. The only place I can think of where you'll be safe."


	11. Chapter 11

"This is the house Clark, Kal-El, grew up in," Lois announced after she shut of the engine.

"It's so nice here. There's so much room," Kara said, looking out the window, trying to see how far it was before the land touched the horizon.

"I prefer the city, but coming to the country every once and a while is nice. Come on. You can meet Mrs. Kent, his mother.

Kara shyly followed after her.

Martha only saw Lois at first. "I got your messages. Phone line was down awhile, but it saved the recordings. There was nothing to worry about. I don't much watch or read the news, not with Clark not writing it anymore. It depresses me to see evil running amuck and being glorified as truth in some cases, but I appreciated the warnings." She noticed the brown-haired girl. "Hello."

"This is Linda Lee. Can we come in?"

"Of course."

When they were all seated, Lois began, "Linda's real name is Kara. She's from Krypton and Clark's cousin."

Martha's eyes welled up with tears, part sorrow and part happiness, getting up from her chair to embrace the girl.

Kara told her story again, this time to Martha.

"I knew you'd want to meet her and right now she needs a place to stay," Lois added. "Until she's of age and adjusted to earth. And I thought what better place than the town, the home, that harbored Superman? That is if it's alright with you."

Kara was struggling to breathe. Martha, now sitting beside her on the couch, took her hand and instructed, "Deep and slowly." Then she twisted around to open wide the window behind the couch, letting in fresh air. She also stood up and turned on the ceiling fan overhead.

It wasn't long before Kara was breathing easy again and Lois was sure she'd made the right choice. Martha had raised one Kryptonian child. She could help this one, too.

"It's more than alright with me. It would be such an honor and a blessing. We need a story we can tell folks though. My sister and brother-in-law were killed in a car accident about a year ago. You can be Linda Lee Danvers, their daughter. No one around here would question it. Not the way you resemble Clark."

"What do you mean? No one knew he was adopted?" Kara asked, curious.

"Clark came to us in the winter and was young enough that we pretended the blizzard that year kept us from getting to the hospital. If anyone dug into his background, they'd have no reason to question whether we were his biological parents or not."

"You should get Bruce Wayne's help with this," Lois suggested. "He can help you forge what you need. He's got connections, and he's got money. On top of which, I know he'd love to help out. Let me give you his number."

"No need. He gave me his number at the funeral. I never thought I'd need to use it, but I have it."

Guilt or had she reminded Bruce of his own mother in more ways than just name? No matter, he had just went up a couple notches in Lois' esteem. She might even grow to like the man before it was through.

"Well, Kara, Linda, I'd love to stay and help you get adjusted, but Perry will have my head. I've already ignored three of his calls. You'll be happy here, and I'll check in every so often."

"I want to help. Like I did at the bridge. I know it was foolish of me to reveal myself like that, but I heard your scream, and I couldn't ignore it. Even though it turned out you already had plenty of help."

"And someday you will," Lois said, "but not today."

"I was just on my way to church before you all got here. Might as well introduce you sooner rather than later, Linda. "

"Has it really been a week since Clark's body went missing?" Lois asked, unable to believe it.

"No, honey. It's Wednesday night. How much sleep have you gotten lately?"

"Not enough," she admitted.

"You'll at least stay the night. Get some rest before you drive back in. If you need to send in a story, we have computers out here in Kansas, too. Connected to the internet and everything. "

She smiled. "Okay. You've convinced me." Martha was right. And she wouldn't mind seeing the sheriff in the morning and getting back to chasing down that avenue. And she'd also like to question some of the locals.

"You want to come with us to Bible study?" Martha asked.

Suddenly Lois did. It might be the most normal thing she did all week. And a Bible study likely wouldn't be in the sanctuary. "I'd like that a lot."

sss

"So I kind of let the bridge collapse, but no one got hurt." It sounded like the end to a long story.

Clark was able to open his eyes this time. He was in some Arctic location from the chill in the air that had no effect on him, of course, and the blinding whiteness. He couldn't see his rescuer for all the snow that fell and the light. He could just see a shadowy outline of him.

He felt water dribble into his mouth from a cup the mysterious figure held. The yellow sun gave him all the energy and sustenance he needed, but it was much easier to talk when you didn't feel like you'd had cotton balls stuffed inside your mouth.

"Who are you?" It took all the strength he had to say those three little words after the intake of water, but at least he could say them.

"I'm not sure you'd believe me if I told you."

"Alien," he said, referring to himself. "Try me."

He laughed. "My name's Jon. I'm from another world. Another dimension if you will. Kind of like the Twilight Zone, I guess. People would be surprised to discover just how big the universe really is."

He wasn't so shocked. After all, he was laying in the sun, soaking up its rays like some kind of plant. If the young man had said he was St. Nick, he wouldn't have been too rattled. Then again, he was probably too tired to be very surprised about anything. "What time? Day?"

"2:00 a.m. You're probably wondering about the location, but see the sun is in its six month cycle up here. You're getting little doses of sun around the clock. It wouldn't be good to overwhelm your body with say a tropical sun. You were for all intents and purposes dead or comatose would be a better word, I suppose, and believe me, I know what that feels like and how hard it is to recover from, but you will be as good as new in a few more days. Be patient."

He noticed the interdimensional traveler had purposely avoided telling him what day it was. The talking had worn him out though, and he shut his eyes. He soon succumbed to the darkness again, however, this time it was a little more gently.

sss

Darkseid landed his ship on an island that no sentient beings inhabited. Beauty was all around him: swaying palm trees, a white sandy beach, and a crystal blue sea, but he saw none of it, so consumed he was with his plan to conquer.

"Await my orders," he told his parademons. "Do not leave this island."

He knew as eager as they were for violence, they feared the violence he was capable of more. He needed a plan before they acted.

He teleported to Metropolis, the once home of Superman. He didn't blend in with Earth's population with his rock-like features and glowing eyes, but he didn't care.

He was standing on a rooftop, high enough to make the people below him look insignificant but low enough that he could enjoy what he was about to do.

He brought the worst fears of everyone in his sight to reality and suddenly there were spiders, snakes, germs that could be seen with the naked eye, and some people were whisked off where they could face their fears of heights or whatever else it was they were afraid of.

It was one of his favorite powers, and he enjoyed the fear and the chaos it created, but most of all he loved the feeling of power he had over these mortals' lives.

He didn't know what to think when the Kryptonian flew into his sight in response to the screams. He immediately probed his mind, desiring to know how he'd escaped death. The tension melted away from his body as thoughts and memories came to light. Then he actually laughed.

A clone. A mere clone. It would be easy to manipulate someone so new to existence. He would bring Earth to submission through "Superman", who was practically a god himself. An "image" the people now loved and the entire world would now rally behind. It would be just like the dream he had given Bruce Wayne, while he worked to figure out the Anti-Life equation that would give him ultimate control.

Things couldn't have played out better. Not in a hundred thousand years. And he knew because he'd lived that many years and more. This was his destiny.


	12. Chapter 12

Bruce and Diana were working hard to find Clark's body when they weren't out performing superhero duties. They used every spare moment they could find towards it.

"We're definitely dealing with something unusual," he informed her.

She put down her book to look at him. She'd been reading up on cloning, discovering what they might expect from their new "friend."

"I hacked into a government satellite. I was able to zero in on the site we want."

She came over to stand behind him for a better look at the screen.

The screen provided footage of the graveyard on the day Clark's body had gone missing. One minute everything was as it should be, the next they were looking at a hole in the ground and an abandoned coffin.

"You are quite good with technology and gadgets and getting past defenses."

He couldn't quite believe it. She had actually paid him a compliment. She had softened towards men since Clark's sacrifice. Or dare he hope she was softening towards him in particular?

He replayed it, this time in as slow a speed as it was capable of, but it could catch nothing more than blurs. Whoever had taken him hadn't stopped for even a nanosecond, and he definitely hadn't wanted to be found.

"Not the government then. A superhuman," Diana said. "Which reminds me." She pulled out a clipping she had cut from the newspaper. While Bruce and most of the modern world pulled up articles on their computer or phone, Diana preferred looking at a paper in her hands. Simple and concrete. "Look at this. Recognize him?"

He took it from her. It was an article on a murder case. It was high-profile because the victim had been high-profile, a famous senator. The reporter had interviewed the police scientist working on the case, a Barry Allen, and the man's picture was in the paper. "The one with the incredible speed."

"Yes." Her hand accidentally touched Bruce's as she went to take it back. A figurative spark shot between them, and she was quick to try and hide that with words. "The blur at the graveyard maybe? Or if not, perhaps he'll be interested in helping us."

sss

Fiery flames, exploding glass, and then the building crumpled like a paper bag. He could have eradicated the military base with the Omega Beams he could fire from his eyes, but it was so much more satisfying this way. Preying on the minds of a few antisocial madmen from the Middle East, so that they would destroy it. An act of terrorism they would call it as panic about more possible bombings would arise, making the way clear.

His real target flew into sight. Darkseid had known he'd show up. He watched as he saved the precious few who had survived.

Darkseid went to the side of the building where none were gathered due to the sheer force of the heat and waited for his opportunity. Waited until the clone flew out, disgusted with the senselessness of the tragedy. "It's amazing the atrocities humans commit against other humans, isn't it?"

He agreed by his silence. He landed in front of him and walked towards him, sensing this rock-like alien had more to say.

"I'm a visitor to your fair planet," Darkseid said. "These people of Earth can't govern themselves. They need someone to do it for them, someone who knows what is best for them. They need someone like you."

He so enjoyed the art of manipulation. Getting someone else to do the dirty work and dance to his tune. No one was quite as good at it as he. The clone was falling for it hook, line, and sinker.

"No country in the world would dare challenge a country led by Superman, would they? A man who has proved himself both powerful and indestructible? Then there would be peace, and things like today wouldn't happen."

"You're right. I must speak with Washington." He flew away on that note.

Darkseid teleported himself to the capital, to the Oval Office in particular hidden just outside one of the windows, to watch how it all unfolded and was soon rewarded.

The clone wasted no time. "I must take over, Mr. President, for the sake of peace and safety. The people will accept it as necessary given the explosion."

The president didn't know what to say. What could he say? Superman could crush him like a bug. Not even kryptonite, should he have had any, could keep him down. "I-I'll call a press conference."

"Superman", the soon to be Commander-in-Chief, gave a nod. It was too perfect. Today, the United States. Tomorrow, the world.

Darkseid looked at the faces of those gathered in the office, like the Secret Service and a few government officials, who had all heard the quick exchange. There were many hopeful expressions among them.

Though it served for now, hope was contrary to his ultimate purposes. As was life and freedom. He had to figure out what it took to stamp these things out once he had power through the clone. Then he would have the kind of control he wanted. Complete control.


	13. Chapter 13

Lois was less tense after Bible study and by breakfast in the morning, she was downright relaxed. Though she'd never be happy living in a rural community, the slower pace soothed something inside her. Being with kind and loving people, it took the edge off if it didn't altogether erase her pain.

Kara was packing away the pancakes like only a teenager could.

"You heading back to Metropolis today?" Martha asked, adding another pancake to Lois' plate without asking if she wanted one. She probably thought her too thin. And she probably was. She had noticed her clothes hanging a little looser on her since Clark died. Not that she tried to starve herself, but grief could be a good appetite suppressant, and she often got so distracted with work she forgot to eat. Clark had been good at making sure she didn't forget.

"I thought I'd speak with the sheriff first as long as I'm here."

"Don't forget to say goodbye when you go to leave," she warned.

On her way to the sheriff's office, Bruce called, and she answered right away. "You have news?"

"I do. We got some satellite feed of the event. All you could see were blurs. We're dealing with a metahuman, not a Dr. Emil type."

"Well, I appreciate you keeping me posted. Let me know if you find anything else out." She hung up quickly. She wasn't trying to be rude. She was just upset that it was going to be harder than ever to find his body.

She thought about canceling her trip to the sheriff, but it didn't mean nobody in Smallville had seen anything beforehand. And anyway, the sheriff didn't know that the culprit had powers. He shouldn't be wasting taxpayer's money, sitting around the office and doing nothing. And she intended on telling him that.

Only he wasn't there. He was out on a domestic spat. It was just the sweet older lady, who offered her sympathy and prayers again.

She let out a sigh of frustration and sadness as she stepped out into the sunshine. She had to realize she might not get his body back.

It made her mad the sheriff wasn't trying harder, but honestly it probably wouldn't have mattered if he did. She was just wasting time pursuing this path. If she lived in Smallville though, he wouldn't be getting her vote the next election. No doubt he'd lost Martha's.

She went to the graveyard, not looking for clues this time but just to feel closer to Clark. She went to the headstone. He wasn't there, not in spirit or in body, but she wanted, needed to talk to him.

Her eyes prickled and stung as her knees sank into the soft earth. "I'm not doing so great without you." She took a swipe at an escaped tear. "Just surviving. You don't know how much I miss you."

A twitter of a bird in the trees came as if it offered condolences like the ones she had been getting so much of lately.

"I'm empty. A functioning shell of a person. I walk, I work, I eat, I sleep, but on the inside I'm as dead as you are on the outside. And I don't know what to do anymore. I can't even find your body. I know you wouldn't care, but I do."

The twittering had stopped, and it was quiet again.

"I don't know how to go on living. Sometimes I think you were the lucky one."

She scanned the horizon. What was she looking for? Him? Some kind of sign everything was going to be okay? Hope?

Her eyes fell on the church, and she got up off the ground and went towards it. Like it had some kind of pull. The door wasn't locked, and there was no bell to ring. She trusted it was okay to walk in.

The minister had his sleeves rolled up, playing the melody of an old hymn on the organ. She didn't know the words to it, but it sounded familiar. He stopped when he saw her.

"I can come back at a later time," she said. "I didn't mean to interrupt."

"No, no. Just making sure it's still in tune and having a little fun doing it. What can I help you with?"

His eyes were kind, his expression welcoming, but there was something so disconcerting about discussing your human weaknesses with another person. She would have preferred a wall between them. "I don't suppose Methodists have confessionals, do they?"

"I've heard plenty of confessions but only because people want to confess to another person, not because they have to. Only God can offer forgiveness."

"It's not a confession so much as it is a problem."

"Please, sit," he said pointing to a pew.

"How well did you know Clark Kent?"

"I knew Clark for a long time. Baptized him even. I know those men are not him. He would have gone straight to his mother first. Not picked up the Superman mantle before letting her know he was alright. Always full of questions that boy. Did Jesus really come for everyone? What if that person wasn't from this planet? I thought it boyish imagination at the time though I answered it just the same. Now I know why he would have asked that; he confided in me when the aliens came for him."

"What did you say when he asked you those questions?" she asked, unable to hold back her curiosity.

"I said God was the God of the universe. All life belongs to Him, and if He loves the littlest sparrow, He would love any life He had created. For aren't angels aliens by our definition of the word, and He loves them."

She liked this man. Not many pastors would have taken a little boy's questions about aliens so seriously. She got on with her problem. "I need peace. I thought staying focused on work, on my reason for being here, would give me that, but ever since I lost him, I've been hurting. I've been ignoring it, but I can't anymore. I talked to Clark." He looked at her a little warily. "Not really talked to him. But he couldn't really offer any answers. I'm hoping you can."

"Do you know God?"

"Of course I do. I was raised in the Church."

"That doesn't really tell me much. But I think you know where peace comes from or you wouldn't be here. I think you know the answer in your gut."

"In my gut?" Now she was looking at him warily. That didn't sound like preacher talk.

He chuckled lightly and explained. "I believe what we call our gut can really be the voice of God. It can be scary losing someone we love, life-shattering, and it does hurt, but we have to remember Who's in control even when we're surrounded by chaos and pain. He will prove over and over again that He can be trusted with our burdens, with life's problems."

"How do I remember that? How do I find peace?"

"For starters, maybe it's not me or Clark you need to be talking to. Maybe it's Him," he said, pointing behind her to the stained glass window of the kneeling Christ.

Then he just left her alone. Got up and walked out. She went to her knees once more, facing the window.

"Oh, God. I suppose I should have talked to You first. I can't help feeling You took him too soon. I know I'll see him again, but we had a whole life together to live. It's not fair. Not just for me. Not just for him. It wasn't fair to the world. Maybe he wasn't the hope the world was looking for, but I believe he could have showed the world how to have it. Why, God? Why?"

It was the first time she had talked to Him since she was a little girl. It might have been more of a complaint than a prayer and she didn't know if it was right to question the Almighty. But she had opened the lines of communications with Him and that did lessen the burden she carried. She found just a little bit of hope herself.

Her cell went off. She prayed it was Bruce with more news, but it was Perry's name and number that was on the screen. "I sent in the articles last nig-"

"I know. I got them. I want you to get on a plane and head to Washington to cover the press conference."

"Press conference?"

"Where have you been? In a bubble?"

"The next best thing. In Smallville. Visiting Clark's mother. Why? What's it about?"

"The president has declared that we're in a state of emergency, but that he has a viable solution he plans to discuss during the conference."

That sounded ominous. And what kind of state of emergency were they in? Were they under attack?

sss

The people were gathered in front of Capitol Hill so tightly it would have been difficult even to fit a broom between them and many more no doubt watched from the comfort of their home.

He watched from the comfort of a rooftop as the president explained that all the recent explosions and panic and confusion caused by himself, Darkseid, was really caused by terrorists. And how the only solution America could take was to put Superman in charge of the country.

The crowd ate it up. Most of the crowd. There were cheers and applause. It had been easier than he thought. Now he just needed the rest of the world behind Superman, which meant behind him.

The clone, who stood beside the president, was eating it up, too. He bowed at the waist. "It'll be my honor to serve the people of Earth in this way."

And then the crowd bowed back except instead of bending at the waist, they went to their knees.

This was too perfect, Darkseid thought. He had come to the right planet this time.


	14. Chapter 14

Lois interviewed the crowd for quotes on their reactions. She herself didn't know quite how to feel other than shocked, but anger set in after the shock began to wear off. Unfortunately, most seemed excited about "Superman's" takeover and optimistic for the future.

She would have liked to grab the microphone and reveal the man behind the curtain, so to speak, but she knew she would get dragged off by one of the men in black suits with no proof. It was Emil who had to tell everyone who the imposter was.

She found a private spot to make a phone call.

"Hello?" Batman's gravely voice answered, letting her know he was in his Batman disguise.

"I didn't know you came out during the day," she said, a stab at levity. It wasn't the time for jokes perhaps, but it felt like there never was anymore.

"I saw it. I'm with the good doctor now. I'll let you know how it goes."

Bruce was one step ahead of her. Good. She didn't envy Dr. Hamilton at all.

sss

"And you're going to tell the world who he really is," he growled at the scientist that he had pressed against the wall. A simple revelation and this could all be fixed. At least, he hoped so.

"What if he comes after me? He believes he's doing the right thing. Nothing will get in his way. Not even me," Emil said fearfully.

The creator had become afraid of his creation. The Frankenstein story come to life. "You'll have protection from me, from Wonder Woman."

"And perhaps from someone fast?" Diana put in.

He nodded. They hadn't gotten a chance to meet with Barry Allen yet in all the madness, but it was time to pay a visit to the forensics department in Central City. They'd need all the help they could get going against not just the clone but the United States.

sss

"I want you to go interview some conspiracists. They called in, saying they had some news of interest regarding Superman's takeover of the U.S. They sounded like nuts to me, but then this country's gone nuts. Maybe they do have some good information," Perry told Lois.

"I told you it's not Superman. It's a clone. That's the story we need to be running to wake people up. I can interview Dr. Emil, he's already agreed to talk, and then maybe people won't be so eager to stand behind a clone that's not even a year old yet."

"You can work on it after you talk to these guys."

To argue would be to waste time they didn't have. "Fine. I suppose I can see them first."

It was a small house that looked rundown. A quick knock and she was wordlessly let in by a man who looked and smelled like he hadn't seen a bath in days.

It was dark inside despite it being the middle of the day as blackout curtains hung on all the windows like they shunned sunlight. There were scented candles burning in place of the natural light that did little to cover the scent of marijuana. Though she was sure it was strictly for medicinal purposes, she thought with a roll of her eyes.

Perry had sent her to a house of crackpots pure and simple. A few questions to say she'd done as she was told and then she was out of here.

She followed the man deeper into the house against her better judgment and was taken to the leader, she supposed. He wore thick glasses with black frames like Clark, but that's where the physical similarities ended. He had a blond goatee and he was wiry rather than muscular. "You doubt. I can see it in your face," this leader said before she could ask her first question. "Then you must see so your eyes will be opened."

He showed her a video of the press conference that someone had filmed. "I don't need to see it. I was there. Nothing out of the ordinary happened other than the president lost his mind."

"Sure about that?" He froze the frame, and she walked closer to the screen for a better look. He pointed to the roof of one of the buildings. "See there. That's him. The god of evil."

It was a mere speck on the screen, nothing definable. "It could be anything. Anybody. Edited even."

He handed her an enlarged part of the picture someone had printed off. It was grainy, but the figure couldn't be mistaken. Though it was a humanoid, it was other worldly in dress and his skin looked more like rock than flesh. And it didn't look friendly. No wonder they thought he was the god of evil.

"You will find him on any video out there," he told her. "Because it's real. He was there."

"So you want him exposed? To bring him to justice? Do you have any proof he's behind anything? I can't run a story based on his looks alone."

"We don't want him exposed; we want him revealed. So that others can worship him along with us. He's come to take what is his. To resist is futile. We must embrace and support. What people call evil is nothing but our most primitive desires. The god of evil has come to free us and return us to our animalistic passions."

"Charming." The unease in her grew, but they didn't seem dangerous as much as misguided.

This little cult was making the church of Superman start to look sane and that took some doing. They were right about one thing though. Something evil was out there and she was going to bring it to light to save mankind from the dark road they were heading down.


	15. Chapter 15

Bruce and Diana, dressed as civilians, entered Central City's police station.

"We'd like to talk to Barry Allen," Bruce said.

"Take a number. He's late like always," groused the policeman behind the desk.

Diana smiled. The world's fastest man late? It was mildly amusing. With her utterly captivating accent and good looks, she charmed the prickly officer in a heartbeat. "We will not take too much of his time, but we saw his name mentioned in an article, and it so happens my friend, Mr. Wayne, knew the senator. We have some questions for him."

"Of course, you do. He's all yours," he said, smiling at her before he returned to his paperwork.

They caught him as he came in not many minutes after, and Bruce said, "We need to talk."

"Let's got for a walk," Diana suggested.

They both grabbed a side of Mr. Allen and were out the door walking before he had a chance to protest though he could have run away if it'd suited him.

When they reached a private street with no pedestrians out other than themselves, Bruce said, "We know your secret."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Berry said, a second nature response.

"It really doesn't pay to lie to me," Diana said. "I have ways of making you talk."

"I'm sure you do, but I have nothing to hide," he returned.

"I suppose it's only fair we introduce ourselves. My name is Wonder Woman."

Bruce wondered at her tactics with their real identities on full view, but this man was an officer of the law, who knew what it was like to be different. "And I'm Batman."

"Well, I'll be. I must admit I never expected superheroes to come up and introduce themselves to me."

"You could be one, too," Diana said. "How many people are there in the world that can come close to being as fast as you?"

"Superman's the only one I can think of, or any Kryptonian really, but there aren't many of those, are there? And in some ways, I'd argue I'm faster."

"You wouldn't have happened to pass through Smallville, would you have?" Bruce asked with his usual distrust of new people.

"It's possible. I pass through a lot of places. Why?"

"It wasn't him," Diana said with surety. She'd lassoed enough people to know when someone was lying or not. "We have a proposition for you."

Bruce picked up where she left off. "We live in a dangerous time, and it's getting more dangerous every day. Extraordinary things are happening that call for extraordinary heroes."

Barry didn't need to think about it, or he'd already thought about it. Whatever the case, he only took a split second in answering. "Yes."

"Yes?" Diana and Bruce echoed back to him.

"Yes, I'll do it. Be a superhero. I've thought through all the outcomes, and it's worth trying. Of course it is. I'd love to work with you both." They seemed stunned at his quick answer. "That is why you came to see me or was it only to ask if I'd been through Smallville?"

"Yes," Bruce said, regaining his presence of mind. "We did come to ask you to join us." He was pleased and shook hands with him. 

They were a team of three again, but would any team ever feel complete without Superman on it, Bruce wondered. He still felt so much guilt over how he had misjudged the man who though birthed on another planet was as American as mom and apple pie. He hoped wherever Superman was, he was smiling down on this.

sss

Lois had gone to see Lex in prison not too long after Clark had died. She had wanted to know why he had done what he did. She had wanted to see that he was locked away with her own eyes. While she was there, he had mostly raved about a coming visitor, a conqueror. At the time she had thought him insane, but perhaps his mad ravings weren't as mad as she'd originally believed.

Now here she was again, looking into those same cold, feral eyes. "Who is he?"

He laughed. "I knew you'd be back. An alien, of course."

"What does he want?"

"Men from other planets aren't really so different. You should know that better than anybody, Lois. That we're all the same underneath our clothes."

She ignored his innuendo. "What does he want?" she repeated.

"Power and he'll get it using 'Superman' as his pawn."

She felt physically ill. Lex Luthor induced that reaction in her. "How do I stop him?"

"Do you think I'd tell you? Even if you promised me my freedom, and I knew, I wouldn't tell you."

She'd known it was a waste of time to come here. She turned to leave in an angry whirl.

"Be careful, Lois Lane," he said, his voice slithering down her spine like a snake. "You are the key to Superman's undoing. You tether him to this planet, to his human side, and Darkseid will want to cut that tie to humanity." He laughed in his unnerving way as he knew his warning would do little good.

The information was simply a way to torment her. How could she protect herself against a super-powered clone who'd had no time to develop a conscience and an all-powerful being bent on planet denomination?

sss

His flight was slower than usual, but he was flying. He had only one thing on his mind, Lois. He had to let her know he was alive. He'd finally been told how many months he'd been presumed dead, and he couldn't believe he'd been asleep that long.

And his mother. He had to tell his mother. How they both must be grieving.

Jon had warned him about an imposter, and he worried the pretender would take advantage of Lois. Terrible images were going through his head and that spurred him on even when he started getting tired. He couldn't believe the fake would have had an easy time of integrating his private live, but what if he had?

He breathed a small sigh of relief when he hit Metropolis. He was almost there. He only paused in flight once when he saw the flags flying over city hall. Higher than the stars and stripes were flags with the symbol of house of El, fluttering in the night breeze. Was the country that long in mourning for him or celebrating his return? He would have perferred a simple half-mast. He had an eerie sense of foreboding that he shook off. Had more taken place than Jon'd had time to tell him? Maybe he should have stuck around and heard more before taking off, but he had to see Lois.


	16. Chapter 16

She was so beautiful. Her skin glowed like alabaster in the moonlight, which was made all the more striking by the fiery contrast of her hair. He watched her walk all the way to the door of the apartment and realized too late that he probably shouldn't be standing in the middle of their apartment with no prior warning.

But she didn't look surprised or even happy to see him. She didn't run into his arms like he expected. Her purse strap fell off her shoulder, and she laid the pocketbook down on the end table, but despite her seemingly casual actions, her sharp blue eyes never left him. She was regarding him very warily. "Which one are you? Or are you new?"

"It's me, the real one," he said as he took a step closer.

"I don't believe you," she said in her endearingly cynical way, taking a step back. Of course, with an imposter flying around, she had good reason.

"My name's Clark Joseph Kent. I'm from Smallville, Kansas. My mother is Martha-"

"So you learned about his personal life. I still don't believe you," she said, folding her arms defiantly.

"Ask me anything. Would an impostor know that you love monster trucks, wrestling, and guns, but when you think I'm not home, there's nothing you love to watch more than a sappy, love movie?"

She had stepped closer and closer while he was talking and was now looking into his eyes as if she could see into his soul. "It really is you." Tears pricked her eyes, and she sounded so vulnerable, he wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her and never let her go.

"Lois, I'm so sor-"

She threw her arms around him, cutting off his apology for being gone. She buried herself against him, and he basked in her embrace. He was home.

sss

There were so many questions she wanted and needed to ask. Where had he been all this time? Did he know about Darkseid? Did he know about his clone? There were things happening that only he could set right. The world needed him, but she needed him, too. She could tell he needed her just as much. The proof of that need came to fruition when he kissed her, and all the longing and loneliness and grief came pouring out in that one little kiss.

She shivered with pleasure and the fear that he was a phantom, that this was going to turn out to be a dream like it had so many times before.

She gasped against his lips as their bodies melded against each other. Memories failed to live up to this, the real thing.

She laid a feather-light kiss on the dimple of his chin and then leaned back ever so slightly because she loved to watch the way his Adam's apple bobbed as he gulped in response. Then she clung to him desperately still afraid he might disappear into thin air. A part of her still felt selfish for wanting to spend time with him when there was a super-powered maniac running loose, two in fact. "There... are so...many things I...need to tell you," she got out rather incoherently thanks to Clark's current activities.

"They can wait," he returned, his voice sounding as deprived as hers.

"Don't ever leave me again," she said pleadingly between kisses.

"I don't plan on it," he managed to get out before Lois slammed him against the wall to get a better hold of him.

He cupped her cheek adoringly with one hand and ran his fingers through her thick, silken hair with the other before bringing his lips against hers once more.

The kiss grew in neediness and franticness until they found their way to the nearby bed.

sss

Lois thought back to the first time they had been together as they enjoyed the afterglow. It had been so slow, tender, and sweet. He'd been inexperienced and she a little more practiced. She remembered their conversation afterwards like it was yesterday.

_"Is it possible for the earth to stop spinning on its axis?" she asked teasingly._

_"It must be," he answered, but he sounded more pensive._

_"Do you regret it?" She suddenly felt incredibly at fault. Had she pushed him into something he wasn't ready for?_

_"No, it was just shy of perfection."_

_"Shy of it?" she said, flushed. She'd been told she was a very good lover. And it was only their first time, but she'd still thought it very nice. She forced herself to calm down. Sometimes people who'd never been intimate with another built up imaginings of what it was like to impossible heights that could never be competed with. "The first time is always awkward, I hear, unexpected. It gets better as you learn each other's likes and dislikes."_

_"That's not what I meant. I was thinking it was only lacking because we're not wearing rings. I just wish we were married. To each other," he added, in case he needed to clarify that._

_She'd been rendered speechless and just a little frightened. Though she wouldn't say it, it was the most romantic bedroom tête-à-tête she'd ever had. No man had ever wanted her for a lifetime before. Given her track of broken relationships, she didn't have high hopes for them as much as she loved Clark and he loved her. And could a man who was Superman make time for a marriage, for a family? She hadn't been sure of that either. So she responded, "Who knows what the future holds?"_

He kissed her hand and then noticed his ring on her finger. "So is this a yes?"

She laughed. "Of course, it's a yes. And I'm sorry it took so long for me to believe in an us."

"I would've waited as long as it took for you to believe like I do," he said, laying a loving kiss on the top of her head.

"Just think the next time we make love, we'll both be wearing rings," she said with a smile.

He smiled back. "You're a cruel woman, but I do think it'll help us anticipate our wedding night the way we should."

"And I think it'll please God." His eyebrows lifted, but he gave a nod of agreement. She explained, "We got a little closer while you were gone."

"I'm so happy to hear that. I should be doing a better job of living up to the values and faith I hold dear. It's funny how it takes something like this for us to turn to Him."

"Where were you all this time?" she wanted to know.

"In the grave. I wasn't dead. It was kind of like I'd gone into hibernation, I guess, and it took the sun to draw me out of it."

"My gosh, we buried you alive," she said in a tortured whisper.

"You couldn't have known," he assured her, stroking her arm.

"So you got yourself out?"

"I had help. A friend I'm not sure I can explain. I don't understand where he's from or who he is myself."

"No matter. All that matters is you're alive," she said, nestling in closer.

"He told me I had an impostor, but I left before he could tell me more."

"It's true, a clone," she said gravely. "Dr. Emil, who's back by the way, made him with good intentions, but I believe he's become corrupted. There's so much to tell you I don't know where to begin. For one, he's taken over the U.S., and I think he has plans for taking over the world, and here's the strange part, I don't think he's acting alone. There's a bigger, darker force at work, a being from another planet. He's the one you have to stop."

"And we will. We'll go see my mother first, and then I'll go see my double and put a stop to this planet domination in my name real fast."


	17. Chapter 17

Clark smiled at the cornfields of Kansas as they rippled from the whoosh caused by him and Lois flying above them. He knew it was meant for him to live in a big city; it was God's purpose for his life. And yet, some part of him would always be a country boy, would always call Kansas home.

The feeling grew as he landed in front of his childhood home and as the woman he called mom ran out to greet him. Somehow she knew it was him. Maybe it was because Lois was with him and smiling.

He felt like a child again in his mother's arms, both of them crying tears of joy. If he'd been able to personally select his mother, to tell Lara and Jor-El who he wanted for parents, he would have chosen Jonathan and Martha Kent. They were a blessing he had sometimes taken for granted.

"I prayed for this so many times," she said, voice shaking.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that." He only raised his head from his mother's shoulder when he saw a blonde girl shyly watching the reunion from the porch.

Before he could ask who she was, Lois said, "Oh, did I forget to mention, you have a cousin?"

"That's not possible."

Lois laughed. "You practically come back from the dead thanks to an interdimensional traveler to find the world taken over by your clone and it's the cousin thing you're hung up on?"

"But she's younger than me. I was a baby when Krypton exploded. How-"

"She's got a very interesting story. And I know you do, too. You all can swap stories over pastries," Martha said.

He gave the young girl a warm smile, not wanting her to think he didn't like her, and she returned it with at tentative smile. He'd never had blood relatives before. He desperately hoped they could become good friends.

sss

"Is that kryptonite?" Barry asked, peering over Bruce's shoulder. Bruce was looking at a green rock under a microscope.

"It is. I'm trying to alter it for our friend, Mr. Clone. Right now it doesn't effect him, but if I can make some changes, it might. I've studied its structure and was able to turn it into a gas. It shouldn't be impossible."

"Fascinating," Barry said. "Do you mind if I have a look?"

Diana was bored by their scientific study. She drummed her fingers on the edge of the chair. She itched to do something. It felt like they were sitting around, doing nothing, which was true in her case.

That's why she reached Bruce's phone first and didn't mind answering the phone when she saw it was Lois. "Yes?"

"Diana, hi. There's been a new development." She could tell Lois was restraining excitement and that it had to be good news. "Bring Bruce and let's meet on the roof of the Daily Planet say in an hour?"

"We can do that. See you then."

sss

Martha had gone to take Kara to school, who was now enrolled at Smallville High. Clark hoped to spend more time with his cousin when things settled down a little bit.

It was nearing time for the meeting on the roof. He and Lois sat on the couch in their living room, watching the news while they waited. It was a commercial break at the moment.

"Superman returning is going to be easier to explain than Clark Kent returning," Lois said.

"I've thought about that. I just haven't thought of an explanation yet."

"How about cold feet? You faked your death so you could have time to think about our relationship?"

He laughed as he twisted a piece of her hair around his finger. "A little extreme, don't you think? Besides, no one would ever believe I wanted to run away from you."

"Oh, they'd believe it. Our coworkers would anyway. They don't call me Mad Dog Lane for nothing."

"We've got time to think-" he stopped midsentence as the phony Superman came on.

"I'm happy to say that almost every major country has joined with us in a new union like the world has never seen before," 'Superman' was announcing to the press. "There will be peace for the first time in human history."

"Is it true Russia has refused to become a part of the union?" a journalist in the crowd asked.

"Russia did refuse, but I think they'll see reason when they need my protection. Dark forces from other worlds will unleash themselves on us unless I stand in the way."

The conference was interrupted for breaking news. In an unlikely coincidence, footage was shown of a place in Russia. There were other worldly beings flying through the air and wreaking havoc. They were solid black except for their glowing eyes with wings like wasps.

"What the-what are those things?" Lois asked. "They look like demons."

"I believe those are the unleashed forces," he said grimly.


	18. Chapter 18

Before Lois could ask him anything else, Clark had already changed his costume and was halfway to Russia. Not that it surprised her. It was where he should be, but it meant she would have to go to the meeting alone and that she had to leave now if she was going to make it on time.

She was there in time to see the batplane hover and then drop. Three people got out: Bruce, Diana, and a man she didn't know.

"Who's this?" she asked immediately. He had a mask that covered the top part of his face though it was more exposed than Batman's. It was made from red leather and had a bolt of lightning on the chest.

"One of the metahumans we've been looking for," Bruce told her as she continued to stare at the newcomer's outfit. Did he have lighting bolts on the side of his head too?

The superhero in red held out his arms. "Like it? I got the idea for the costume design from a comic book."

"I can see that. What can you do?"

He sped around the roof as fast as Clark maybe faster. "Is that all?"

"I'm working on figuring out things I can do with the speed. It's still rather new to me. I wasn't born this way. I have a theory that I can time travel with it."

Bruce started to open his mouth to say something and then seemed to think better of it. He shook his head as if brushing cobwebs away.

"Do you have a name?" Lois asked.

"Barry."

"That doesn't sound like much of a superhero name."

"That's because it isn't. It's my real one."

"Lois is good with words," Diana said. "She came up with my alias, Wonder Woman. Superman's, too."

"I can't just come up with names as quick as a flash," Lois said. "I'll have to think about it."

"Flash. That's it. I like it," Barry said.

"Why'd you ask us here?" Bruce asked, interrupting impatiently. "Not to name an unnamed superhero, I'm certain."

There was no easy way to say it. "Clark's alive!" Her cheeks were flushed with happiness, her eyes sparkling.

They didn't rejoice with her. They didn't believe her. They just stared at her in shock for a few moments.

"How can you be sure it's him?" Bruce asked at last, the only one she knew more cynical than herself. Or at least she had been cynical until she met and fell in love with Clark Kent.

"It is. He would have been here with me to tell you, but he had cape business."

"Convenient," Bruce said. "Why didn't he come to us himself? Why is he hiding behind you?"

"He's not hiding behind me. You and Diana have done so much to help me find him. I wanted to be here when you all saw the happy conclusion."

"I saw him die. You saw him die. It's just not possible however much you want to think differently," Bruce said, unmoved.

"I know you want to believe," Diana began sympathetically. "I too know what it is like to lose the man you love."

Bruce looked at her with interest at this hitherto unshared information, but she didn't elaborate.

"I know it's him," Lois said. "Trust me. No one knows Clark better than me except maybe his mother, and we both agree it's really him. He's in Russia as we speak, stopping those things, whatever they are. Isn't that exactly where Clark would be right now?"

"What things?" Bruce asked.

"Monsters, aliens, I don't know. I do know he needs help. I didn't think anyone else could get there in time, but maybe with Barry-"

"The Flash," Barry corrected. "I could do that. Have us there now."

He took Diana first and was back in seconds. "It is a mess over there. You ready Batman? Need to stop and get some gadgets?"

"I've got all the gadgets I need on me." He looked at Lois. "Let's pretend for a moment that it is Clark. What about the clone? Can you tell the difference between them on sight?"

"No," she admitted. "Not without talking to him first."

"That's what I thought. Be careful, Lois. Fear him. Every time he leaves your side, you can't be sure it's him returning. Treat him like the enemy."

"If it's Superman's clone, he can't be all bad, can he? And what would he want with Lois?" Barry reasoned.

"It's a feeling, I have. More than a feeling, but I don't have time to get into that. Just listen to what I'm telling you."

"You brought up a good point," Lois assured him. "I'll be on my guard."

He still looked reluctant to leave, but then he and Barry were miles gone, leaving her alone in Metropolis on the Daily Planet roof.

sss

Darkseid had his eyes shut, his forehead against the palm of his forehead. He was digging, searching the weak minds of the Earthlings for the answer while his parademons wrecked havoc on those who didn't fall in line with the plan.

He knew he was close to the equation because of the charge he got when he ran across certain emotions. And what was so deliciously beautiful about loneliness, alienation, and lack of self worth was that that so many humans carried them around already. The fear and despair he and his parademons could create themselves with a snap of his fingers.

There were a few that seemed tap into some unnatural source of strength and resistance. They carried a hope and courage that defied logic when they were such a weak race, but by far and large they were gloriously out-numbered.

He wrote it out on the wall like a math professor might except he used omega beams instead of chalk:

loneliness + alienation + fear + despair + a lack of self-worth


	19. Chapter 19

In Russia, all hell was breaking loose. Quite literally some would say. Moscow was aflame, growing in intensity as the parademons breathed fire from their mouths. They flew around, varying shades of green and brown. Combined with their wings, they resembled giant locusts, especially since they too left destruction in their path. It was like a biblical plague with a sci-fi flavor.

Superman got to work at once, dousing the flames with his freezing breath, while Flash kept the monsters distracted by getting them to chase him rather than the citizens.

Wonder Woman was able to get her golden lasso around one of them, but before she could do anything with the creature, it self-detonated, causing her rope to drop to the ground empty of its target.

It became obvious they were willing to die rather than chance giving away their leader's plan, and they would have given it away with her lasso around them.

"By the goddess," she muttered, contemplating whether she should attempt to lasso more of them when one that was living could lead them to the orchestrator.

"Keep going, Wonder Woman," Batman called.

She looked around at all the destruction. She didn't even want to contemplate the number of lives that had been lost here today. It was better to stop them.

Batman had a gun with him that shot flames. "Let's see if they can take a dose of their own medicine," he muttered as he fired the fire at them.

In less than ten minutes, all the paredemons were gone, most having destroyed themselves. The fires were out too though smoke was still rising from the disaster area.

The superheroes stood together, knowing that though they'd stopped the attack, they hadn't stopped the problem.

"That was too easy," Batman said.

"I don't believe their master will be so easy," Wonder Woman agreed. "I think they were only a distraction."

"It's time I paid a visit to S.T.A.R. Labs," Superman said, already a couple feet in the air. "I'd like to speak to my clone."

sss

Superman came into the office, and Dr. Emil ran and cowered behind a table.

"Please, don't hurt me!" Emil called out in a trembling voice.

"I'm not your clone." He looked around the room. The breathing tank was broken. The clone had apparently become adjusted to the atmosphere and no longer needed it. Not good. He'd be harder to track down and harder to defeat.

"Who are you then?" he asked, still nervous but less so.

"The original. Get your monster under control. And how did you get out of the Phantom Zone?"

"I created another portal using the phantom drives. Don't worry though. I took them with me to keep the other prisoners from escaping."

A lot had happened in the months that he was gone. It brought it home just how long he had been away. "I'm happy to see you. I respected and appreciated your sacrifice more than you know, but making a clone from my DNA was unethical even if you thought I was gone."

"I know that now. I was just hoping to give the world back Superman."

The rest of the gathering of superheroes got there, adding credence to the fact that this really was Superman if Emil still doubted it.

"We have to concentrate on the present now," Superman said. "We have to let the world know there is a clone, expose his lie."

"I already promised Batman and Wonder Woman I would. I was waiting on them to take me to a press conference."

Superman flushed over not knowing that. He needed to sit down and talk with them like he'd planned before the Russian incident. He'd operated as a lone superhero so long, it was going to take some getting used to working as a team.

sss

Darkseid didn't even care that things hadn't gone according to plan. There'd be other opportunities. The universe wasn't conquered in a day.

In fact, thanks to the exploit of the pitiful collection of superheroes, of which one wasn't even superpowered, he had solved the next part of the equation.

It had come to him when he'd seen their unexpected unity reported through the thing they called television. Unity was something of which there was too much, especially among those with the unnatural source of power. He needed everyone unified under him, not against him, but to do that he first needed to divide them. And that he could do. It was easy to make people war against themselves. He'd done it on countless other planets.

It began with mockery, which escalated into condemnation and grew into misunderstanding. And that's when he cleverly realized it was the second part to the equation. He burned "÷ mockery ÷ condemnation ÷ misunderstanding" onto the wall.


	20. Chapter 20

Bruce managed to get Diana aside as they walked through back alleys and side streets. Now that it was after the battle, he had things he wanted to discuss with her.

"What you said to Lois about losing the man you love," he said, "it made me realize how little we know about each other. About our pasts. I'd like to hear about him; if you want to talk about it, that is."

"It was a long time ago, " Diana said in a way that communicated it was only like yesterday for her in some ways. Bruce wanted to take away the pain he saw in her eyes though he knew he could never replace her first love, but they could build something new and different together. And he wanted to. He just hoped she wanted to, too. "He was a good man."

He had no doubt of it. It would take a good man to win the love of such an amazing woman, of an Amazon.

The others were conversing about their next steps. He was about to add his voice to the conversation when a super-speeding Cyborg caught up with them. "I want to join you," he said, interrupting.

"What about your father?" Bruce asked, remembering the clear and firm no he and Diana had received from the man.

"I don't need my father's permission."

"Actually, you do," Bruce said. "You're underage."

"Are you really saying you don't need my help?" he said, the surety evident in his tone.

The band of superheroes all looked at each other. They knew they needed all the help they could get.

"If you wanted to be in our general vicinity, I suppose we couldn't stop you from hearing when we might receive word of lawlessness breaking out, " Barry said.

Superman and Wonder Woman smiled at the boy to show their acceptance.

Bruce said or did nothing to demonstrate his support. He had his reservations about letting Cyborg help, not just because of the non-permission of his father though that was a big part of it, but because Robin's death still haunted him. The more he'd thought about him joining the team, the more Silas' argument about Vic being too young had struck a chord. He would have to talk to the others about it privately. Perhaps he could even get through to Vic. Sometimes hearing the same argument from a different mouth, one that wasn't a parent, was enough.

sss

At last, they reached the Daily Planet, where Superman took the flightless among them up to the rooftop. The batplane and Lois both should have been waiting there, but only the batplane greeted their eyes.

Which wouldn't have been alarming in itself, Lois not being the type to wait around, but there were obvious signs of a struggle that proved she hadn't just stepped away for a minute: a pen belonging to her had been dropped and one of the headlights on his plane had been smashed in. She hadn't gone peaceably and must have been trying to get to the safety of the plane. Bruce looked over at Clark to see how he was handling the evidence.

Clark could barely process it. Lois was gone. They had just been reunited. He blamed himself. Of course, she would be a target. She was always a target when someone discovered how deep their relationship went. He didn't like it, but that was the nature of the beast, and he needed to become better about keeping track of her whether she liked it or not.

"This is my fault," Bruce said, echoing the words he'd been thinking.

"How could it be your fault?" Diana asked.

"I had a dream. Only it was more than a dream. I didn't understand it at the time. I thought he was talking about you," he said, looking at Clark, "but he had to be talking about your clone. All the fears I had concerning you, are true with him. It was a real visit from the future because I didn't even know Barry or the Flash at the time, and yet, I saw him plainly. He told me Lois Lane is the key."

"Did I tell you what that means exactly or how we get her back?" Barry asked, the first to believe him, especially since he'd been thinking about experimenting with time travel.

"No, he didn't have the time before he was sucked back to his own time, but we need to find Lois. That needs to be our first priority right now, not just for her sake, but I believe it will be for the world's sake, too."


	21. Chapter 21

Kidnapped. Was it terrible that this wasn't the first time or even the second? Oh gosh, she'd lost count. And she still hadn't learned to carry pepper spray. Of course in this instance, she wasn't sure pepper spray would have been particularly helpful against winged demons.

Lois' eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness. And the dark creature from the video stood before her. She'd never understood the term soulless eyes before, but she did now because they were trained on her, watching her. No, it was more than that, they were peering past her outside to some place deeper.

She shuddered. What could this monster possibly want with her? Was she being used as bait for Superman again like Lex Luthor had done?

His voice was even more soulless, and when he spoke, she felt a chill in the air. "You think He's so powerful. You vowed to follow Him. To follow His absurd moral code."

The chill seeped inside her. "She knew he was talking about God. How do you know that?"

"I know because your mind tells me. I also know it wasn't but a few days later before you broke your vow."

Her cheeks colored in guilt and shame. She had failed to live up to her promise. How disappointed He must be in her. How angry He must be that she had chosen wrong. Why did He let her choose wrong?

"And this God of yours will judge, won't He? And He'll find you wanting."

It was true. Evil wasn't just rampaging in the world; it was rampaging inside human beings. And she wondered why God didn't just stop it. And then she wondered if God was even good if He could intervene but didn't or was he just not powerful enough? And she knew that she was starting to think like Lex and that was bad, but what were the answers? She knew there had to be answers because she believed in Him.

Darkseid's lips twitched in satisfaction as he heard her thoughts. Humans were as weak as he'd hoped, and he was closing in on the formula. "I've been across space and time. There are no gods like you believe. Your hope is built on nothing; it amounts to nothing. He can't love you or care because He's a lie created by weak-minded mortals such as yourself. All that will come after your pathetic little life is nothing. Death is the end. We are alone in the universe. The only god there is to serve is self. Dark, isn't it? It's a dark side to the life you thought you knew. And that's my name, Darkseid. But you can worship me."

"I will never serve or worship you," she spit still full of venom at having her beliefs so utterly crushed.

He paid her no mind, however, because he had the next part of the formula: '× guilt × shame × failure × judgment and n=y where y=hope and n=folly, love=lies, life=death, self=dark side'.

He added it to the wall as Lois watched in horror though she didn't yet understand the magnitude of the discovery or her horror would have been even greater, and it was not just bad news for the human race but for all sentient beings. He had the full and complete Anti-Life Equation. He knew it as all great minds did when they had at last stumbled upon the right formula. All there was left to do was use it. And his first subject stood before him.

He said it all out loud. "Loneliness + alienation + fear + despair + self-worth ÷ mockery ÷ condemnation ÷ misunderstanding × guilt × shame × failure × judgment where n= y, y = hope, n = folly, love = lies, life = death, self = dark side."

He heard her thoughts before they stopped altogether in despair. She now believed life, hope, and freedom were pointless because death, hopelessness, and enslavement were a mathematical certainty that he had just proven.

She was a blank slate now, his to control as the human race would soon be. Superman didn't matter anymore because the formula would work just as well on him. He would be the next to hear the formula and then there would be no one to stand in his way.

He ordered Lois to untie herself, giving her the know-how now that she was his instrument to work as he willed and no longer able to think for herself. "Go. Tell Superman you want to be alone with him at his fortress." His friends were nothing to worry about in comparison to his power, but things would run smoother if he implanted the equation in Kal-El's mind without their interference. "Be charming and be insistent."


	22. Chapter 22

Most of the superheroes were at the Wayne Mansion mapping out their next steps, but Clark had been too impatient for that, not when it was Lois that was missing. He flew over Metropolis listening for the sound of her heartbeat. He almost didn't believe it when he zoomed in on it so fast and saw the top of Lois' red hair traveling down Clinton Street.

"Lois, you escaped!" Clark exclaimed. He didn't even care that he was hugging her in his costume in the middle of a busy street. After the relief and joy came the questions. "How? What happened?"

"I was taken, but I escaped."

"Did you see who took you?"

"It doesn't matter. It's over, and I got away." He couldn't put his finger on it, but she sounded different. Her voice and even her facial expression had a wooden quality to it.

"I need to talk to you. I have something to tell you."

"Of course. You can tell me anything," he said, not expecting her evil intentions in the least.

"Loneli-

"It's Superman," said a touristy-looking man to his equally touristy-looking wife.

"No, it's just a guy dressed up like Superman. What would he be doing walking around when he can fly?"

Clark had to hide a smile. The people had so readily accepted an impostor, but he was regarded as a guy in a Halloween costume.

"This isn't the place. I need to talk you alone," Lois said, urgency running through her tone. "Let's go to the fortress. No one will bother us there."

He squeezed her hands, wanting to draw her into his arm again, but he kept a professional distance because of the people watching. "Okay, but let me call to let them know you're alright."

"Must it be right now? What I have to say is really important."

"Yes, it does; they're searching for you."

"You're right. Of course, you're right, but make it quick." She gave him her phone. She knew he didn't carry one around in his costume.

The phone call was swift and brief, letting them know she was alright. He wouldn't have been able to provide a lot of detail if Bruce had asked as he didn't know her story himself, but he had hopes that was why she wanted to talk to him at the fortress.

sss

He flew them there in minutes. It wasn't cold once inside the fortress, but she felt cold inside herself. It was a little like watching a horror movie. You knew the terrible moment was about to come, but she couldn't shout a word of warning to the victim. She tried. She even started to break through the fog that enveloped her mind, and the scream bubbled in her throat. Her lips had even made the o sound, but the formula was just too powerful to fight. "Loneliness + alienation + fear + despair + self-worth ÷ mockery ÷ condemnation ÷ misunderstanding × guilt × shame × failure × judgment where n= y, y = hope, n = folly, love = lies, life = death, self = dark side."

"What are you-" but he didn't get to finish his question for she had completed the equation, and Clark was not impervious to its control. He fell under its power as fast and completely as Lois had.

sss

Bruce was troubled. He wasn't even sure why other than something about the phone call had disturbed him. He was thinking about calling again.

"How are you at diving?" Diana queried with no ceremony, despite having disappeared after Lois reappeared. She'd been missing quite a few hours without explanation, but it wasn't like he was a stranger to disappearing without warning.

"I have a submarine."

Her lips curved into a smile. Dare he say one of affection? "Of course you do. I'd say it's about to get some use." She showed him the copy she'd made of the ancient map; one that showed the location of Atlantis.

He'd almost forgotten she'd had a map of Atlantis' location, or rather her tribe did, so much had happened since then. What the academic world would give for this priceless treasure, but they could never see it. since the lost and sunken island still had inhabitants. He wondered what other treasures lay hidden on Diana's island and within the woman herself.

That same day found them gliding though the dark, murky water. The submarine was equipped with a GPS, and they'd plugged in the rough coordinates. As they drew near to the points, they spotted a man that couldn't possibly be this far down without scuba gear.

Getting closer, they saw he had long, dark hair, a beard, and tattooed scales just like in the video they'd seen. He also held the wicked-looking trident in one hand, and he didn't look at all happy to see them. He swam towards them with a speed that would have put any Olympian swimmer to shame.

Before they knew what his intention was, the Atlantean had thrust the trident towards the porthole, and if it was anything like the camera, the glass was about to be shattered.


	23. Chapter 23

Darkseid met the controlled couple at the fortress, if it could be called that, since he penetrated its icy walls without even trying.

The most amusing part of all this was she'd hardly had to try. If she'd said, "Let's go to the middle of the desert to look at this glowing green rock", he would've probably said yes. If that didn't prove love was weak, nothing did. Love made one stupid and vulnerable. He still missed Sulti, his murdered wife, but there was no denying he had become stronger and more powerful after her death. It didn't pay to rely on anyone but yourself.

Superman was an ace in the hole, the one blip in his plan and now no longer a problem. The world listened when Superman spoke, as his clone had proved, and he would soon be speaking the equation over the airwaves. "Go. Spread the equation among the people of Earth."

He laid out images of what he wanted them to do in their minds without needing to explain. A press conference for Superman, and Lois would take care of Superman's friends.

They had no questions or hesitations. They just did it. They left wordlessly to fulfill his wishes. How satisfying to have the universe falling at his feet. It was safe to say that with the Anti-Life equation, he wasn't just a god; he was God. For what was God if not the ruler of the universe with the people of Earth forced to do everything He said?

sss

Water came pouring into the submarine with the breaking of the glass. Bruce ran for the emergency air breathers. If he had to bet, he would bet she could probably hold her breath for a really long time. She didn't earn the name Wonder Woman for nothing, but he handed her one anyway.

She took it, having no idea when they would break surface. She could hold her breath longer than most, but she could also still drown.

The water that was pouring in would quickly render the sub unusable.

Outside the sub, they could immediately feel the pressure was pushing in on them. The life was literally being squeezed out of them. They swam towards the surface, Diana might have made it, a faster swimmer and able to withstand more, but she was helping him. It wasn't many seconds before they both blacked out.

The next thing they knew, they were coughing up blood into the sand, another testament to how deep underwater they'd been.

Aquaman was standing over them. He looked regal, a serious bent to his bearing, but he had a calm way about him that made them think they would like this new superhero. They must have been laying on the beach for awhile because his hair had had time to dry.

"You didn't leave us to drown," Bruce said with a note of surprise.

"I thought you were from LexCorp," he said apologizing. "I was angry, but I wouldn't have drowned anyone, much less people who didn't deserve it. Why were you down there?"

"Looking for you," he answered. "We need your help."

"Is this about the attack in Russia?"

"How do you know what's going on above water?" Bruce asked.

"Do you think I live in a cave?" Never mind that was exactly where he lived, in a cave underwater.

"Aren't you one of the lost Atlanteans?" Diana asked. "We assumed you were. That's how we found you."

"My mother was. My father was a lighthouse keeper in Florida. While I mostly live under water these days, I keep up with what happens on land as it eventually affects the sea."

"Then you know that there has been an evil unleashed that we must put a stop to right away," Diana said.

"I do," he answered.

"We must work together to defeat this darkness," Bruce said.

"I very much agree."

Bruce had almost expected an argument. Certainly had the situations been reversed, he would have argued.

But they were too late. Bruce could see that as soon as they returned to Metropolis. The people were walking lifelessly in the streets as if they were of one mind. It was like some kind of a zombie apocalypse had been unleashed only they weren't attacking. At least, not yet anyway.

He wondered if there was anyone in Metropolis or Gotham for that matter, untouched. As if in answer to his unspoken question, a blonde girl came flying towards them. If he hadn't seen the facial resemblance between her and Superman, the shield on her chest would have given it away.

She answered the question for all of them. "My cousin is under his influence. I saw it happen in Smallville. Fortunately, I was outside learning to master my powers and didn't hear the equation, or I might have been, too."

"Go to my Batcave," he told her, knowing she would be safe there as it was hidden to all except those with x-ray vision. He'd have to work on correcting that problem with a layer of lead. "And wait."

"You've seen the damage a Kryptonian unchecked can cause under a yellow sun. You need me."

Their association of super beings was down one, but they already had one youth. Bruce wasn't sure he wanted another. It wasn't that he didn't think young people capable, but memories of Robin and his failure to protect him still haunted him.

"She isn't a regular girl," Diana whispered in that charming Mediterranean accent of hers. How could she so easily read his thoughts on such a short acquaintance? He would almost think it another power of hers if he didn't know better.

"No, I'm not. I'm Supergirl."

"There's only one way to win this fight. Together," Aquaman said, throwing his own words back at him.

He was about to agree when suddenly Darkseid appeared before them. Supergirl had the fastest reflexes and her heat vision brought the villain to the ground.

However, he was laughing through the pain, and it wasn't hard to see why. All the people around them had fallen to their knees to as if the beam of heat was burning through them all.

Supergirl immediately stopped, and he said with another laugh, "To kill me at this point is to kill humanity."


	24. Chapter 24

Darkseid had left them alone without sharing the equation with them. With the victory in his pocket, Bruce supposed he must want to play a game of cat and mouse, so they all went back to the manor. The superheroes sat in his living room trying to come up with ideas, while Flash tinkered with an idea of his own downstairs.

Barry burst out from the not-so-secret-anymore entrance connecting his house to the Batcave. "I've figured it out!"

The group all looked to the Flash expectantly, who was wild-eyed with the excitement of discovery. Had he figured out the answer to destroying Darkseid without destroying everyone else on Earth in the process?

"Time travel. I've discovered its secret. I just went five minutes into the past. I can go back. I can do better this time. Explain the circumstances we're in better, and then you can stop this all from happening, Batman."

Bruce tried not to dash all the hope he saw around them. They didn't see the paradox. There was no this time. Flash hadn't yet done it the first time. He would accomplish only what he had already accomplished in Bruce's past. Bruce could try giving him words that would mean something to himself, but his past self would only pass it off as a dream, and how did one explain all this in less than thirty seconds? He just couldn't stay in the past long enough.

If only he had guarded Lois Lane as he should have. If only Barry was able to stay in the past longer, but there wasn't onlys, there was simply what was. But Flash may as well do it. Who knew what might change for the worse if he didn't? Though it was hard to see how things could get any worse. "It's worth a try."

Flash left to travel backwards, leaving them alone again to try to come up with a plan. Any plan.

"What do we do?" Supergirl asked.

He'd almost forgotten that a superpowered girl was still but a girl until he saw the fear in her eyes and the trust that he as an adult would have the answer. "We do what Superman would do. We come together in a time of crisis and work as a team." He'd been the inspiration for forming this league in his supposed death after all.

She smiled at his response. "Like they do in Smallville? I've watched the people come together to help each other whenever someone needs it."

"Exactly. Only we're not raising a barn. We're stopping an intergalactic villain." He still didn't know how the five of them were going to accomplish that, but they would. They had to as the alternative was unthinkable.

Bruce at last alighted upon an idea. If Superman had been vulnerable to kryptonite, it stood to reason that Darkseid would be vulnerable to material from his home planet. They were not gods, only beings from other planets, and living things could be maimed or killed whatever planet they happened to be from. "We need to get inside his spaceship."

"Then let's go," Diana said, the first to stand up.

He smiled, a rarity from him and a luxury given their circumstances, but how he liked this woman. Loved if he were honest with himself.

Darkseid was cocky, having all but taken over the human race and hadn't bothered guarding his ship. It was Kara who found what they sought. She pointed to the control panel that was made from a hard, clear substance. "This is Radion. My father taught me about this element. It won't kill his kind from the radiation, but it can pierce his skin and poison him."

"Can it?" Bruce asked, taking the strange substance and examining it closely. "I can make a bullet from this."

"What difference will that make? We can't kill him. If we do, everyone dies," Victor said.

"No, we can't kill him," Bruce agreed, "but we can stop him in his tracks, and the best part is we'd have a bargaining chip in our hands."

Kara tore a piece off, and he fashioned his bullet by the evening. "Now we just have to find our target if he doesn't find us first."

"Did I mention I have a tracking system?" Victor volunteered.

"No. You can pinpoint him?"

"As easy as taking candy from a baby. Maybe easier. You won't believe the energy that guy puts out. He's in Long Island as we speak. And I've got button I haven't yet tried out. It's supposed to teleport me and anyone in the vicinity anywhere we'd like to go. If you're willing to try it out."

"No time like the Apocalypse to take that risk," Bruce answered wryly.

The Flash, who'd rejoined them, his mission unsuccessful, said, "If you all don't mind, I'll just meet you there."

They formulated a quick and dangerous plan that used all their talents. It was a gamble, and they might very well find themselves all under Darkseid's control at the end of it.

He found time in the madness to pull her aside. "Diana, I just want you to know if we don't make it through, I care for you."

His heart beat rapidly, not sure how she was going to respond.

"I love you too," she said, giving a brief kiss that was over all too soon.

Victor pushed his button, and they arrived all at the same time, finding themselves in front of Darkseid.

He was regarding them as if they were flies about to be caught in his web from the top of a grand-looking yacht, no doubt enjoying his new status.

Aquaman used his telepathy to have a squid wrap a tentacle around the alien.

Darkseid laughed as the tentacle released him before it drug him an inch. "Nice trick, but as you can see I already know that one."

Aquaman may have commanded water life, but he didn't mind control them, so Darkseid won out.

"Release my cousin," Kara demanded.

He laughed again. "You must have me confused for someone else."

It wouldn't be long before he pried into their minds and discovered the plan they'd formulated. Kara and Aquaman played their parts well, keeping him distracted as the villan sailed closer to them.

Close enough at last, Batman fired, shooting Darkseid in the leg. Blood trickled down from the open wound, proving gods did bleed after all.

The Flash, quick enough to run across water, brought the wounded alien onto dry land before he could get a chance to command his hordes, and Wonder Woman got her lasso around him so quickly she could have taken first prize in any rodeo in the country. "Tell us all the truth. Tell the whole human race. What is the answer to stopping the Anti-Life equation?"

His eyes burned with hatred. He knew the Life equation. It's why he had known there must be an Anti-Life equation. There was an opposite action for everything. There was good, so there must be evil. There was hot, so there must be cold. There was a Life equation, so there must be an Anti-Life equation. And he was compelled to say it thanks to the lasso. "Where there exists will, there must also exist hope, compassion, and love. When you add hope, compassion, and love, of which love is the greatest component, it equals meaning and life."

Speaking the words seemed to do something to Darkseid or perhaps it was the lasso, but his energy seemed to turn on himself, consuming him in a brilliant flash of white light, leaving the lasso to fall empty to the ground empty of its quarry.


	25. Chapter 25

Everyone looked as if they were waking up from a dream. Or a nightmare, a feeling Bruce could well relate to.

"Oh, Clark, I'm so sorry," were the words that came out of Lois' mouth first as she threw her arms around him.

"It wasn't your fault. You had no choice. Believe me, I know the power of the equation," he said, embracing her, drawing comfort from her embrace. It was beautiful and inspiring to watch a couple so close to each other.

Clark looked out at his superhero friends, who had all been waiting for them to come to themselves, when the long hug was finished. "I shudder to think what would have happened if we'd all fallen under the power of the Anti-Life equation."

"I don't think that would've happened," Diana said. "You can't extinguish mankind's or womankind's hope when it comes right down to it."

Bruce took her hand in his. He'd never heard truer words spoken. He'd thought after Robin's violent death that the last shred of hope he'd carried after his parents' gruesome murder had been extinguished. He'd substituted alcohol for hope as he made it his mission to numb himself from the evil that enveloped the world.

But hope didn't come from a bottle. It didn't even come from fighting against the rising tide of darkness. It came from outside one's self. In eyes as brown as Grecian clay. It was seen in the form of friendship extended from a man you'd treated very wrong indeed. And, he thought as the rain began gently pelting his skin and washing away the grime, it was a gift that was showered down from heaven if only you let your soul feel it.

sss

The world was wiser after the second attack to come from space. They saw the need to have a line of defense. While nations prepared nuclear weapons and plans for another invasion from the unknown, Aquaman, Cyborg, Wonder Woman, Flash, Batman, and Superman sat together in the new building Bruce Wayne had built with the latest technologies. He'd dubbed it, Watchtower. It was evident there were things that would crop up that no superhero could handle alone, and they all wanted to be a part of a permanent association. With any luck, the association would continue to grow.

The only member missing from their current team was Kara, who'd had school in Smallville, where she was busy catching up on not only schoolwork but Earth culture.

Gathered around a circular table with pensive expressions and amazing abilities and a determination to fight for justice, they could have been the knights of the round table, Lois mused as she stood in the background, making notes of this historic occasion.  _Justice League_ , she scribbled the name on the side for Perry's approval later.

With a democratic mindset, the league all wrote down the name of the person they thought should lead the team of heroes.

Lois as the only non-voting person in the room did the honors of the tally. It was a dead tie: three for Superman and three for Batman.

If the group wondered if Batman or Superman had voted for themselves, they didn't wonder long.

"It should be you," the Man of Steel said to the Dark Knight. "With your understanding of the criminal element and your ability to make tough decisions, you'd be a great leader."

"But with your powers and people skills, it should be you. You'd know how best to utilize everyone on the team."

And so it went back and forth, the candidates arguing not for themselves but for the other.

Lois had promised herself she'd only be a spectator as a journalist and as only the fiancée of one of the members, but she broke into the argument at last. "This new bromance of yours is almost as disgusting as your enmity was." Though it was obvious by her slight smile and sparkling eyes that she teased. "Why don't you both lead? With your skepticism and your optimism, you'll make natural partners that balance each other out."

Clark smiled at her because she could have been talking about them, but she was right. Differences made for strength and balance; it was the perfect solution to the problem. "What do you say, Batman? Care to colead with me?" He offered his hand in a handshake to seal the deal.

Bruce gave him a rare smile and shook his hand. "I can think of no finer arrangement."


	26. Chapter 26

"Great Caesar's Ghost, you know we all thought you were dead?" Perry repeated slowly and loudly as if Clark hadn't heard the words from his own mouth when in truth he'd practiced them a thousand times. It was easy to resurrect Superman, godlike in the public's eyes. It was so much harder to resurrect Clark Kent.

He knew his story sounded callous as if he hadn't cared for the people in his life at all. "I never believed Superman was dead. I wanted to chase this story, and I knew the only way I could do that was off the grid. I broke into his tomb and found him missing first."

"And you've been where exactly all these months?"

"Looking for him, Mr. White. I knew you couldn't give me the time off I'd need. And I didn't want anyone to know what I was doing. He was weak, vulnerable, and any number of evil people could and would have taken advantage of that. I couldn't let them suspect what I was doing and that meant killing myself off so to speak. I've got the exclusive right here," he said, handing him the typed article. "It tells all about my story and Superman's story. He was willing to interview with me since I was the one to find him up at his fortress in the arctic."

Perry took the article, but he didn't read. "You can't just disappear like that. You let your mother and Lois think you were gone! Lost in the chaos."

"Not exactly, chief," Lois said. "I didn't think he had a leg to stand on with the Superman story, so I covered for him. His mother did, too. We had a whole ceremony and everything to make it convincing."

More disbelief except this time it was cast Lois' way. "You knew about this?"

"We should have included you," she said, "but we figured the fewer people who knew about it, the better."

His eyes skimmed the paper, and he finally cracked a smile. "You are one crazy son of a gun. In fact, I don't know who's crazier, you or Lane here."

"Thanks? I think," Clark said, not really sure whether Perry had been giving him a compliment or not, but being compared with Lois, he decided to take it as one.

"It's lucky for you I employ crazy people. In the investigative journalism department anyway. I suppose you'll be wanting your old job back." He didn't even wait for an answer. "You two take Jenny and go get some shots of the aftermath. Get Metropolis' feelings on the alien mind control and their feelings on the future."

As they came out of the office, all eyes were glued on him, half expecting him to be a ghost. They'd get over it. He just hoped no one ever decided that it was a little too suspicious that Superman and Clark Kent had "died" and "risen" at the same time.

sss

"He is all powerful and all good."

"What?" Lex looked at Superman from between his bars as if he were the crazy one. As if he couldn't recall their conversation about God. He recalled it. It'd been one of the most harrowing moments of his life as he feared for his mother's life. Every moment of it was burned vividly into his brain.

"You said if He is all powerful then He can't be all good, and if He's all good then He can't be all powerful, but I'm here to tell you you're wrong. He is both good and all powerful."

He hadn't even been released from his prison cell during the anarchy caused by Darkseid's mind control; he had to resent that, but he wore an expression of false contentment as he asked, "Do tell."

"If men were not free to choose love, we'd be nothing more than puppets, and we've seen what that looks like thanks to Darkseid. Even if we were being told to do good things, it wouldn't be truly living. He freely chooses us, and He wants us to freely choose Him."

"That's not good enough," Lex said completely unmoved. "He could stop the pain and suffering."

"Because there is choice some won't chose Him and so there will be pain and suffering and evil here until God has called to Himself all those who will be called. But He has nothing to do with the evil that takes place; He hates it more than you do, more than any of us. And because He is all good, and because He is powerful, He will one day create a new earth where evil and evil people have no place."

"What about now?" he said practically foaming at the mouth. "People hurt now. Why does He allow it?"

"Even in a fallen world, beauty and goodness can come from suffering if we let it. The way we respond to the evil that happens is our choice. We can allow it to bring us closer or farther from God."

"Well, I choose farther," he said with a smirk and a hatred burning in his eyes that was aimed less at Superman and more at God.

"And that's sad, but you have that option. But I choose closer. If God used His power to take away free will, love would also be gone, and a good, omnipotent God would never allow that."


	27. Chapter 27

Clark didn't stop with Lex. He had a whole church to set right. He could barely squeeze through the door of the founding church, the numbers had grown so large. The last thing these people probably expected was for their so-called deity to come through the door of the crowded church, but when they saw him, somehow they made a path for him to get to the front.

People were reaching out and touching him like he was some kind of idol. Like just by touching him, they could experience some sort of a miracle. Some of them even managed to fall prostrate before him. He got tired of the clutching and grasping, and he floated up just a little out of their reach though that probably didn't help cure them of their reverent attitudes.

He couldn't imagine anyone wanting this, the adulation that came like having a monument built with his face on it had been almost as hard to take as the censure he'd gotten since donning this suit, but this worship he was receiving now made his stomach turn. Perhaps he should have come in as Clark Kent, but he had a feeling they were only going to listen to Superman.

"I am not a god." There had been excited whispering, but it got immediately silent as they wanted to hear everything he had to say.

"We all know who you are. We saw you resurrect," one of them called out.

"You saw a man in a coma wake up. That's it."

"Your powers-" began another.

"Are the result of a yellow sun on my body. All I've ever wanted is to help. Maybe inspire others to help, too. I'm different from you in physical ways, but I'm not better."

"Then what do we have to hope in?" It came from an aged woman, who sounded as grieved as any he'd ever heard and who'd probably been looking for hope all her life and coming up empty. What wisdom could he give her?

He looked down at the S on his chest that was the symbol for hope on his planet. It's what so many were searching for. Where did his hope come from? "Why must you make a god when there is One who has made you? A savior came to you long before I did, who died and resurrected to bring you, us, hope."

"That was thousands of years ago," scoffed a middle-aged man with long hair. "Where is He today?"

"Only a prayer away. And the words He gave are as alive and active and powerful as when they were first uttered." With nothing left to say, he flew through one of the stained-glass windows, shattering it and hoping that he had shattered the new religion with it.

sss

Jon was the last person he expected to see on his wedding day. He had begun to suspect that he had returned to his world.

"I know you have a busy day ahead of you. I just wanted to tell you that I've come to take your clone to where he needs to be. Earth is not ready for two Supermans or even three, but I know a planet where his services would be needed."

Clark had been teaching the clone how to be a good superhero and how not to be so easily manipulated since the fiasco with Darkseid was over. Certainly one could never have too much help when it came to saving lives, but there were liabilities to having a clone. How would the people of Earth distinguish between what he did and what his clone did. And besides that, folks had just begun to tolerate him; they wouldn't be forgiving the clone for acting as their world leader anytime soon. "That does sound for the best."

"How did you know you were needed here?" Clark asked, a question that had been bothering him.

"I'm not only from another universe, but I'm also from the future, and what I've discovered is that they all basically play out the same with some minor changes, of course. When I traveled to this dimension and heard the story from this universe, I knew it was me. That I was destined to come to this past and help. Weird, I know, but there it is."

"Is there anything else I need to know about the future?"

He smiled. "Yes, it's going to be great."

Clark looked out at his waiting fiancée, who was impatiently tapping her foot against the sidewalk. It wasn't like they were going to be late. He was nearly the fastest man in the world. He'd have them in Smallville before she knew she was in the air.

He smiled the smile of a man in love. Only she would have insisted that they might as well arrive at the church together, not believing it was bad luck to see the bride before the ceremony, but she still refused to let him see the wedding dress and had it hidden in non-translucent garment bag. When he'd asked why, she'd said they shouldn't to tempt fate. She apparently liked to pick and choose her superstitions. "I didn't need you to tell me that."

sss

Clark stood at the altar, waiting for Lois to enter. The wedding was taking place in his home church. He and Lois had agreed on that right away, and the minister that had counseled them both through some difficult times stood waiting to marry them. Had it really not even been a year since a very different ceremony had been held here? He still couldn't imagine what that must have been like for her. He didn't even want to think about if their situations had been reversed.

He swept those unhappy thoughts away as he looked out over the pews. Most of them were Smallvillians. People he'd known most if not all his life. Some were Lois' family and some were his. Perry and Jenny were there. So was every member of the Justice League in their civilian identities. He was overwhelmed by how many there were who cared about him and Lois, not his origins, not his powers, not Superman, but them as people. It may have sounded cliché, but he felt truly blessed.

Even these thoughts fled when he saw Lois in her wedding dress for the first time. She had been right to hide it from him. But he wasn't so sure it was the fact she looked so beautiful in the long flowing gown that he forgot for a moment to breathe; it had more to do with the fact that the woman he loved was in front of him, and they would soon be wed.

Her father brought her down the aisle. She looked so happy. He wondered if he looked as happy. Considering he could feel himself grinning like an idiot, he might have been happier.

"Friends, we are gathered together in the sight of God to witness and bless the joining together of Clark Joseph Kent and Lois Joanne Lane in Christian marriage. The covenant of marriage was established by God, Who created us male and female for each other. With His presence and power Jesus graced a wedding at Cana of Galilee, and in His sacrificial love gave us the example for the love of husband and wife. Clark Joseph Kent and Lois Joanne Lane come to give themselves to one another in this holy covenant."

He heard his mother give a sigh of happiness behind him. Had she ever thought this day would come? That he would find someone who could accept him for he was and see him as just another human being. In his darkest days, he had doubted there was someone out there for him, but knowing his mother, she probably never had.

"I ask you now, in the presence of God and these people, to declare your intention to enter into union with each other through the grace of Jesus Christ, who calls you into union with Himself as acknowledged in your baptism."

He wondered if he would remember the memorized vows, but when he looked into her eyes, the words came out of his mouth so naturally, it was as if he were the first man to ever say these often repeated words. "Lois Joanne Lane, in the presence of God, and before our witnesses and friends, I, Clark Joseph Kent, with joy and in love, take you to be my wife, to be the mother of my children, and the companion of my days. I promise to fully share my life with you, through days of happiness or sadness, abundance or want. I pledge to you my unfailing love always."

Lois' eyes shined with unshed tears, the evidence of her love. Lois wasn't one to cry, joyfully or otherwise, and that made it all the more endearing to him as she recited, "Clark Joseph Kent, in the presence of God, and before our witnesses and friends, I, Lois Joanne Lane, with joy and in love, take you to be my husband, to be the father of my children, and the companion of my days. I promise to fully share my life with you, through days of happiness or sadness, abundance or want. I pledge to you my unfailing love always."

The words seemed new to him coming from her lips. His heart felt ready to burst. He wanted to kiss her right then, but there was more to the ceremony.

"Do you who represent their families rejoice in their union and pray God's blessing upon them?" the minister asked.

Their parents stood and said they did as they'd practiced in the rehearsal.

"Will all of you, by God's grace, do everything in your power to uphold and care for these two persons in their marriage?"

This time the entire gathering stood up and said they would.

"The Lord be with you," the minister said.

"And also with you," they all echoed back.

"Let us pray," he said, and they all bowed their heads. "God of all peoples, You are the true light illumining everyone. You show us the way, the truth, and the life. You love us even when we are disobedient. You sustain us with Your Holy Spirit. We rejoice in Your life in the midst of our lives. We praise You for Your presence with us, and especially in this act of solemn covenant; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. **"**

The congregation sat back down. Bruce and Diana pulled out the rings, and the minister prayed over them. "Bless, O Lord, the giving of these rings, that they who wear them may live in Your peace and continue in Your favor all the days of their life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

Clark joined a wedding ring to Lois' engagement ring, and she gave him the one she'd selected for him.

Now that Clark Joseph Kent and Lois Joanne Lane have given themselves to each other by solemn vows, with the joining of hands, and the giving and receiving of rings, I announce to you that they are husband and wife; in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Those whom God has joined together, let no one put asunder. Amen."

When he kissed her, he could taste forever on her lips. He could taste love, and heaven seemed closer in her arms. He didn't want the moment to stop, but he knew everyone would want to celebrate with them before she was all his.

"So this is our happy ending?" she asked, whispering in his ear.

"I don't know that there is such a thing as a happy ending," he whispered back. "Only happy beginnings."

The End


End file.
